PNP seeks removal of over 1,300 fake, malicious posts on Meta

The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced it has asked Meta to take down 1,372 posts identified as fake or malicious, as part of its intensified cyber-patrolling efforts against disinformation.

Speaking at the PNP briefing on Monday, PNP chief Police General Nicolas Torre III said many of the flagged posts target the government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the police organization with fabricated stories.

“Wala na yatang makuha ang lehitimong issue itong mga kritiko ng ating gobyerno, lahat mga kritiko ng Presidente kung ano-ano nalang pinagsasabi. Kritiko ng PNP, gagawa na lang ng kwento.”

(It seems these critics of our government cannot find any legitimate issue. All critics of the President just say anything they want. Critics of the PNP simply make up stories.)

Among those identified was a page called Richie Vlogs, which Torre said will be reported for takedown due to violations of community standards.

“Una, Richie Vlogs, papatake down namin ito sa Meta, is a violation of community standards,” he said.

(First, Richie Vlogs—we will have this taken down on Meta, as it is a violation of community standards.)

GMA News Online sought out Richie Vlogs for its comment on the matter and will post its reply soon as available.

Example of fake content

Torre presented one example of fake content circulating online, showing supposed Filipino youths placing chairs on a road, which allegedly caused an accident. However, the PNP chief clarified that the incident did not happen in the Philippines.

“Pinapakita na may mga kabataan na naglagay ng upuan sa gitna ng kalsada. Talagang may naaksidente diyan. May naaksidente diyan, panoorin natin,” Torre stressed. 

(It shows young people putting chairs in the middle of the road. An accident really happened there. Let’s watch it.)

He explained that while the video carried Bisaya captions to make it appear local, investigators discovered it was filmed in Indonesia.

“Tapos Bisaya ang nakalagay, ginagawang Bisaya kunwari ay Pilipino pero ang problema ay nasa Indonesia yan. So cyberpatrolling, Indonesia kasi nakuha natin diyan ang plate number. Ang plate number Indonesian plate,” he said. 

(The captions were written in Bisaya to make it seem Filipino, but the problem is—it was in Indonesia. Through cyberpatrolling, we found that the plate number was Indonesian.)

DDS vloggers?

The PNP chief also criticized the origin of the misleading material.

“Walang makuha itong mga DDS vloggers. DDS vlogger ang nagkuha niyan, ang nag-post niyan, ang naglagay ng caption ng Bisaya. Wala nang iba diyan kundi DDS vlogger,” he added.

(These DDS vloggers have nothing to contribute. It was a DDS vlogger who recorded it, who posted it, and who put the Bisaya caption. No one else but a DDS vlogger.)

Torre warned that individuals or groups proven to be behind the creation and spread of fake news could face criminal complaints.

The PNP said its cybercrime units will continue monitoring and coordinating with social media platforms to curb the spread of disinformation, which officials warn could endanger public safety and fuel political tensions. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News