FALSE

As the raucous presidential election campaign season kicked off in the Philippines, social media posts claimed a rally for opposition hopeful Vice President Leni Robredo in February was the “biggest in the history of Philippine politics”. The posts included purported crowd estimates from local police and the Associated Press (AP) news agency. However, representatives for the Philippine police and AP separately told AFP they did not issue the crowd estimates indicated in the false posts. An official in the city where Robredo’s rally was held estimated it drew a maximum 18,000 attendees — fewer than previous election campaign rallies.

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AFP launched its digital verification service in France in 2017 and has grown to become the leading global fact-checking organisation, with dedicated journalists in countries from the United States to the Philippines. Our journalists monitor online content in local languages. They take into account local cultures, languages and politics and work with AFP’s bureaus worldwide to investigate and disprove false information, focusing on items that can be harmful, impactful and manipulative.