Palace warns against fake memes crediting personalities for admin praise

Malacañang is urging the public to ignore fake memes that attribute false praise for the Duterte administration to various personalities, both real and fictional.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo denied a viral social media post falsely claiming he criticized the poor for complaining about the government's COVID-19 response.

The fabricated post used a template resembling Inquirer.net, included Panelo's photo, and contained a quote in Tagalog that suggested the poor should be grateful for government aid.

Panelo's original statement, published by Inquirer.net, appealed for constructive suggestions on improving the government's COVID-19 response instead of focusing on criticisms.

Spreading fake news about the COVID-19 outbreak can lead to a two-month imprisonment or a fine of up to PHP1 million under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.