Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo has called on Facebook’s fact-checking teams to do their job with impartiality after complaining about a false and misleading online post showing he was endorsing opposition senatorial candidates.
Panelo said the political meme, posted by the satirical Malacañang Events and Catering Services on Facebook, amounted to “defamatory imputation” and was nothing but “fake news.”
“Some supporters of the political opposition are showing signs of extreme desperation as D-Day or the Election Day, May 13, approaches,” Panelo said.
“An Anti-Duterte Facebook page has posted today an edited on-line image of me taken from my news briefing (May 8) purportedly endorsing the slate of Ocho Derecho senatorial candidates and others. Perhaps, the purported fact-checkers of Facebook can do their job and at least show their impartiality,” he added.
The satire page earlier posted on Facebook an edited photo of Panelo showing he was supposedly endorsing the 10 opposition senatorial candidates “for an independent Senate.” Panelo’s image was taken from his earlier Palace press conference where he bared an alleged Liberal Party-led conspiracy to discredit President Duterte.
Panelo, however, has “strongly” denounced the “malicious use” of his image for black propaganda and political mudslinging. He said he understands the post was a political meme, a norm in the campaign season, but considers it a defamatory imputation. (Genalyn Kabiling)
