An image of actress-host Toni Gonzaga has been manipulated to show her in a red Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte T-shirt while holding up the signature Marcos ‘V’ hand sign.
Pro-Marcos former broadcaster Jay Sonza posted the altered image on Facebook last Dec. 11 with the caption:
Good morning Rizal & Laguna, Philippines.
The Queen of All Media
Ms. Celestine "TONI GONZAGA" Soriano
makes the V sign with full conviction!
Buong tapang at pagmamalaki (Full of courage and pride).
And look at the red shirt.
The markings & all.
It speaks volume!
A reverse image search traced the original photo to Gonzaga’s artist profile on Amazon.com’s Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Her bust was extracted from the original photo and placed onto another body.
Traces of Gonzaga’s hair, originally placed on her left shoulder, are visibly out of place in the altered image.
A stock photo from Dreamstime captured by Aaron Amat was used in place of Gonzaga’s body. It featured a teenage model in a plain red T-shirt flashing a victory sign. The exact placement of the Dreamstime watermark is present in the altered image.
Both Gonzaga and the model’s skin tone were modified to simulate a single body.
The T-shirt’s printed design, displaying the text “BBM SARA 2022,” was edited and lifted from an original product found in the online shop The Print Lab Store.
The altered image was also published on Sonza’s Twitter account with a similar caption.
Sonza’s post emerged a day after Gonzaga’s husband, director Paul Soriano, attended the Laguna province caravan in support of the Marcos-Duterte “Uniteam” last Dec. 10.
Marcos stood as a godparent at the wedding of Gonzaga and Soriano in June 2015.
Last Sept. 13, the presidential candidate guested in a Toni Talks episode titled “The Greatest Lesson Bongbong Marcos Learned from His Father” on Gonzaga’s YouTube channel. It sparked outrage among netizens, raising questions on Gonzaga’s neutrality. The controversial interview was later denounced by the Ateneo Martial Law Museum for contributing to the “Marcos family’s attempts to whitewash their human rights violations and its proven historical record.”
This is not the first time that Sonza has been fact-checked.
As of writing, Sonza’s Facebook post has garnered 18,790 interactions, 1,000 comments and 1,500 shares. His account has accumulated 296,349 followers since it was created in 2009.
Pro-Marcos Facebook pages SOLID BBM TAYO, United Cordillerans Supporting BBM, BBM Bicolano 2.0, BongBong News Updates, and BBM 2022 Volunteers have also shared copies of the altered image. These pages contain posts on presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos and have thousands of followers. (LKA)
References
Amat, A. (n.d.). Teenager caucasian girl wearing casual red t shirt smiling looking to the camera showing fingers doing victory sign [Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/teenager-caucasian-girl-wearing-casual-red-t-shirt-smiling-looking-to-camera-showing-fingers-doing-victory-sign-teenager-image224048298
BBM 2022 Volunteers. (2021, December 10). [Image attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/100066702986571/posts/251075917125839
BBM Bicolano 2.0. (2021, December 10). Couple Paul Soriano and Toni Gonzaga Certified BBM supporters [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/103762002114284/posts/126559823167835
BongBong News Updates. (2021, December 11). TONI GONZAGA FOR BBM!. [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/1071511562958095/posts/4483926255049925
IMDb. (n.d.). Toni Gonzaga. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1373129/mediaviewer/rm2173961472/
Martial Law Museum. (2021, September 15). Open Letter to Toni Gonzaga [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MartialLawMuseum/posts/2614226142204824
Paul Soriano [@paulsoriano1017]. (2015, June 22). thank you @mannypacquiao and @bongbongmarcos for your support and for being there for me on my special day. Will never forget. God is good! #PaulTinWedding #61215 #grateful [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/4N8TlzyXLF/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=12e59d8a-263e-4f1e-9754-f005c1fd3bdc
Roque, H. (2021, December 10). Samahan niyo po kami sa BBM-Sara Motorcade ngayong araw sa Laguna ft. Direk Paul Soriano! #kalmaAkoLangTo [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/HarryRoque/posts/497270201755187
SOLID BBM TAYO. (2021, December 10). Toni Gonzaga's husband Paul Soriano is present at BBM-SARA Laguna Caravan. Toni - Support kay Ninong BBM! [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/104512272039418/posts/122431110247534
Sonza, J. (2021, December 11). Good morning Rizal & Laguna, Philippines. The Queen of All Media Ms. Celestine "TONI GONZAGA" Soriano makes the V sign [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/t2j.sonza/posts/4995332370486144
Sonza, J. [@wadabhubag]. (2021, December 11). The Queen of All Media Ms. Celestine "TONI GONZAGA" Soriano makes the V sign with full conviction. Look at the [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/wadabhubag/status/1469458623877107715?s=20
The Print Lab Store. (n.d.). The Print Lab BBM Sara duterte Bongbong Marcos Campaign red Shirt cotton election 2022 mens men women unisex casual election [Product post]. Lazada. https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/the-print-lab-bbm-sara-duterte-bongbong-marcos-campaign-red-shirt-cotton-election-2022-mens-men-women-unisex-casual-election-bongbong-tshirt-t-shirt-t-shirt-tees-top-bbm-president-summer-mens-men-women-unisex-casual-fashion-tshirt-t-shirt-t-shirt-tees-top-i2533535486-s11705995436.html?spm=a2o4l.seller.list.1.5f88f6bdesmpPW&mp=1
Toni Gonzaga Studio. (2021, September 13). The Greatest Lesson Bongbong Marcos Learned From His Father | Toni Talks [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EwMAiqLUhM
United Cordillerans Supporting BBM. (2021, December 10). BBM/SARA CHOICES BY THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE-TONI GONZAGA- [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/830226900384621/posts/6590085777732009
Vera Files. (2021, February 3). VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Jay Sonza, netizens revive fake photo of ‘Manila Bay beachfront’. https://verafiles.org/articles/vera-files-fact-check-jay-sonza-netizens-revive-fake-photo-m