MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. never reached out to political data company Cambridge Analytica to allegedly “rebrand” the Marcos’ family image on social media.
Bongbong Marcos
Vic Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesman, issued the denial on Thursday, adding that the former senator was only made aware of the political data firm through reports of its controversial activities in media.
“Former Senator Marcos never reached out to them and, like most of us, was only made aware of Cambridge Analytica’s existence through reports of its controversial activities in the media,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
In an exclusive interview with Rappler, former Cambridge Analytica employee-turned-whistleblower Brittany Kaiser revealed that the son of the late former president had requested the political consulting firm to “do a family rebranding.”
Rodriguez slammed the report as “patently fake, false and misleading,” adding that it is only a “marketing ploy” to “drum up support for their beleaguered news blog site.”
“This move by Rappler to besmirch the former senator’s and the Marcos family’s reputation speaks to the kind of insidious reporting espoused by its convicted founder Maria Ressa,” he said.
“The timing of this news story is nothing more than a marketing ploy meant to drum up support for their beleaguered news blog site,” Marcos’ spokesman added.
Marcos is consulting with his legal team on the possible filing of a libel complaint against the news site, Rodriguez said.