DOH urges public to fact-check info on mpox

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday urged the public to fact-check information about monkeypox (mpox) circulating online before reposting.

This came after the spread of misleading social media posts about the transmission of mpox and the supposed implementation of lockdowns in the country to contain the virus.

“Huwag ho tayong click nang click. Basahin natin, hindi lang yung headline, tingnan natin yung laman nung article at kung saan nanggagaling yung article,” DOH spokesperson Albert Domingo said in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Nagyon.

(Do not just share the post. Read, not only the headline, but also the whole article, and check where it came from.)

Domingo said verified information should come from health agencies like the DOH and established news media outlets.

“Tigilan natin yung virus ng fake news kasi yun ang talaga yung nakakasira sa atin (stop spreading the virus of fake news because that will truly ruin us),” Domingo said.

Domingo noted that DOH is coordinating with social media platforms and concerned government agencies, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, to address the misleading posts.

DOH earlier said mpox cases have decreased in May 2025, with less than 50 cases detected, compared to April, which recorded more than 50 cases.

Meanwhile, Domingo said the international health community continued to focus the limited supply of global vaccines for mpox to the most affected countries in Africa, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its surrounding countries.

"We await the change in global strategy. It does help that the Philippines, through Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, presided at the 78th World Health Assembly," Domingo said.

"That gives us a better voice when it comes to these matters," he added. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News