A manipulated photo of actor, comedian and director John “Sweet” Lapus was posted late November on Facebook to back the propaganda against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
The Facebook page “Pinas Ang Ina Nyo” posted on Nov. 28 a photo showing the actor holding a sheet of tissue paper with a no symbol superimposed on the text “CPP-NPA-NDF.” The status update reads:
NO to CPP-NPA-NDF Terrorist Organization!
This is fake. A reverse image search would reveal that the original photo was posted by the actor in his Twitter account on Nov. 16 as a response to a netizen’s question:
@KorekKaJohn kunyari magpapa fansign po sayo si Mocha Uson, ano ilalagay mo sa fansign po? #AskSweet (@KorekKaJohn hypothetically, Mocha Uson is asking for your fansign, what will you put on it? #AskSweet”)
The actor tweeted the original photo with the caption, “Ayan (There)!”
Instead of the “No to CPP-NPA-NDF” symbol, what was actually written on the piece of tissue in the image was “Na Mocha!”-- a wordplay of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) deputy administrator Mocha Uson’s name and a Filipino curse word.
An examination of the photo in the Facebook page shows the actor’s head enlarged from the original.
A forensics analysis using the digital tool FotoForensics indicates a significantly higher error level on the altered photo compared with the original.
The photo was posted and shared on Facebook as red-tagging worsened in the country and on the same day a suspected NPA member was killed in an encounter with government troops in Leyte.
As of writing, the post has garnered about 1,300 reactions, 35 comments and 44 shares.
Pinas Ang Ina Nyo was created on Aug. 8, 2015 and has since earned 70,521 likes and 75,828 followers. It constantly posts pro-administration and anti-communist posts. (RDG)
References
Gabieta, J. (2020, November 28). Suspended NPA rebel killed in Leyte clash. Inquirer.net. Retrieved fromhttps://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1365841/suspended-npa-rebel-killed-in-leyte-clash
Lapus, J. [@KorekKaJohn]. (2020, November 16). Ayan! [Quote Tweet]. Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/KorekKaJohn/status/1328292758923091968
Meniano, S. (2020, November 28). Young female NPA fighter killed in Leyte clash. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1123234
Pinas Ang Ina Nyo. (2020, November 28). NO to CPP-NPA-NDF Terrorist Organization! [Facebook Post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/pinasanginanyo/photos/a.898869690197168/3564972873586823/
Reyes, R. (2020, November 28). Female NPA rebel killed in Leyte clash. SunStar Tacloban. Retrieved from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1878408/Tacloban/Local-News/Female-NPA-rebel-killed-in-Leyte-clash