A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on YouTube alongside a claim it shows a campaign rally for presidential election favorite Ferdinand Marcos Jr in March that was “not covered by the media”. The post circulated online as the volunteer-driven campaign of Marcos Jr’s main rival Leni Robredo appeared to be gathering momentum. But the claim is false: multiple media organizations published corresponding videos of the campaign rally. AFP has previously debunked posts that falsely accused the media of not covering Marcos Jr’s public appearances or his campaign.
The 13-minute video was published on YouTube on March 16 on a channel called Showbiz Fanaticz. The post claims the footage shows clips of a Marcos Jr motorcade in Nueva Ecija province north of the capital that attracted a throng of his supporters despite a heavy downpour.
The video’s Tagalog-language caption translates to English in part as: “This is what the media is not showing: Despite the rain, people from Nueva Ecija did not leave Marcos [sic].”
In reality, multiple local media organizations reported on Marcos Jr’s supporters flocking to see his motorcade in Nueva Ecija. ABS-CBN, one of the biggest news organizations in the country, reported on Marcos Jr’s rally on March 15, 2022.
Philippine media organizations News5, OnePH, and Inquirer.net also reported on the event and mentioned the downpour.
News outlet Rappler streamed the campaign rally live on YouTube here.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.