Marawi civic leader Samira Gutoc. (Photo from Otso Diretso)
MANILA, Philippines — An article allegedly published by INQUIRER.net, under the byline of reporter Gabriel Pabico Lalu, which claims senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc has threatened to jail her critics is not real.
A screenshot of the alleged INQUIRER.net article — titled “Gutoc to netizens: I’ll send you to jail for making fun of wearing my life vest” — was posted on the timeline of the Facebook group “CRUELTY OF NOYNOY ‘ABNOY’ AQUINO AND HIS GOVERNMENT” on Saturday.
Lalu clarified, however, that he did write an article on Gutoc. But its title is “Gutoc slams critics: Wearing life vest wrong better than having wrong principles.”
The original article discusses Gutoc’s comment after being ridiculed for wearing a life vest in reverse and without locking it, prompting former presidential aide and administration senatorial bet Christopher “Bong” Go to offer to give her jet ski lessons.
What Gutoc said was that it would be better to wear a life vest incorrectly than to have wrong principles.
READ: Gutoc slams critics: Wearing life vest wrong better than having wrong principles
Screenshot of the fake news article posted on Facebook
The senatorial candidate has also addressed the fake article on her Twitter account.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT!!! This is not like me at all,” Gutoc said in a tweet.
“Sadya po talagang may mga taong sinungaling na nagkakalat ng fake news. At may mga sinungaling na hindi dapat binoboto para sa Senado),” the senatorial candidate added.
[There really are people who lie and spread fake news. There are also those who are liars and should not be voted to the Senate.]
https://twitter.com/SamiraGutoc/status/1117310449937072128
As of writing, the Facebook post has not been taken down.
INQUIRER.net urges the public to immediately report fake news attributed to it.
/atm