MANILA, Philippines — Pictures of illegal Filipino workers, who have been allegedly mistreated in Malaysia, went viral online and earned sympathy from among netizens, who even urged authorities to rescue them. Problem is the photo isn’t what it claims it was.
The Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday exposed the circulating pictures as fake. Based on its fact-checking, the viral photos “are from Indonesia in 2014 that have nothing to do with Filipino workers.”
Unfortunately, the photos have garnered more than 86,000 shares since it was posted on September 3, 2018.
Screenshot courtesy of AFP Fact check
The AFP said the misleading Facebook post “contains two photos of shirtless men sitting down in a grassy area. One man is in handcuffs and has blood over his face.”
But the French news agency also noted that a reverse search revealed the photos were from a 2014 report of news site Mongabay Indonesia about Indonesians that were “caught in a clash” with authorities in the province of South Sulawesi.
Screengrab courtesy of AFP Fact check
“A clash happened between members of Pamona indigenous community and the police, following a land conflict between the former and a company in South Sulawesi province. The clash took place in Teromu village, Mangkutana district, East Luwu regency. At least 57 people were injured and arrested by East Luwu police,” the AFP said quoting the Indonesian report in English.
The fact-checking of the news agency also found an uploaded video of the incident.
Screengrab courtesy of AFP Fact check
“A man can be heard speaking in Bahasa Indonesia at 7:22. He is saying: Bring him to the local police office. If needed, bring him to Jakarta to be detained there,” the AFP said of the video.
It then pointed out that also shown in the video was a police badge used by authorities in Indonesia. The AFP further noted the latter part of the video where “the lettering ‘POL PP’ can also be seen on the back of one of the police uniforms.”
Screengrab courtesy of AFP Fact check
“According to the official website of the secretariat of the Cabinet of the Republic of Indonesia, Pol Pp means ‘Polisi Pamong Praja’ or Civil Service Police in Indonesia,” the AFP said. /kga