MULTIPLE Facebook pages have posted a photo that purportedly shows President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and other officials greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Manila with a banner that declares their nation a “province of China.”
The post is false and uses an altered photo to mislead.
Several Facebook posts shared the photo as Xi made a state visit to the Philippines from Nov. 20 to 21.
The nations’ relations are a controversial issue for some in the Philippines, where critics allege Duterte has not been assertive enough in challenging Beijing over rival claims to parts of the South China Sea.
In one of the posts, a picture shows the Philippine officials and Xi behind the red banner with a caption that says, “Official Welcome Ceremony in Malacañang.”
Malacañang is the official residence of the Philippine president in Metro Manila.
A reverse search shows the image – minus the banner – was posted on Twitter by
Duterte’s then spokesman Harry Roque on Nov. 11, 2017.
It shows Duterte and other Philippine officials with Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam in November 2017.
There was a Philippine press report on that event that included the photo posted by Roque.
Banners very similar to the one included in the altered photo popped up in public places around Manila on July 12.
That was the second anniversary of a landmark international tribunal’s ruling in 2016 against China’s expansive claims to the South China Sea.
It was a victory for Manila but Duterte set aside the ruling in favor of pursuing investment and business ties with Beijing.
The misleading image has been shared by groups that oppose Duterte.
While some people who viewed the posts wrote comments to indicate they believed the photo was manipulated to make a political statement, others indicated they believed it was true.
One comment said, “See… province of China…..” Another, when translated to English, says: “Is this real? If it is, this is clearly treason!” (Agence France-Presse)
