FAKE NEWS
When I checked the source of the YouTube post, I discovered that it was a content made by an American, who probably had never even been to the Philippines.
Daily TribuneWhen I checked the source of the YouTube post, I discovered that it was a content made by an American, who probably had never even been to the Philippines.
Barbie Forteza
Kris Aquino
John Regala
Bea Alonzo
For decades, television was called “the idiot box.” Maybe because of the mindless entertainment often featured in this medium.
So, how do we call social media today? It’s difficult to give it a moniker because it has so many platforms.
But it is a cyberspace populated by an odd assortment of users — with 40 percent of them providing useful information. The rest or the 60 percent others are scammers who wield power over the ignorant, the gullible and basically the unthinking.
During the early days of the pandemic, a YouTube feature enumerated the Top 10 richest actresses in the Philippines. I don’t recall the exact ranking anymore, but I do remember that Kris Aquino was in the no. 9 spot.
In first place — drum roll, please — Barbie Forteza! This was before the critical and commercial success of Maria Clara at Ibarra — when her name rang a bell only among rabid fans of GMA programs.
If there was any truth to Barbie Forteza being the richest Filipino actress, I would have been very happy for her. I knew her as a young teen — when her father worked as a tricycle driver and her family had a small business assembling boxes.
Oh, they were also selling yema candies then, which her mother made. And I thought it was so nice of her to give me a box of that sweetmeat.
I was also familiar with how she invested her earnings. First, she got — on installment basis — a unit in that condominium building at the corner of Gilmore and N. Domingo in Quezon City. She needed a place in Metro Manila because they are from Laguna. I thought it was a very good move from her end.
In less than a decade though, she already started building her very own house in a neighborhood off Commonwealth Avenue. It should be finished by now and I am extremely happy for Barbie, who is a very nice person.
But is Barbie Forteza actually richer than Kris Aquino? It is in bad taste to talk about money, especially when it is not even our own money we are discussing. However, it is important for us to put things in the proper perspective.
There is no need to have a listing of the properties and other investments of the two actresses to determine who is richer. Kris was ahead of Barbie by two decades and was a star in her very first project.
And let’s not even bring up anymore the subject of the vast Cojuangco wealth. So I cannot for the life of me understand why netizens bought that YouTube feature as the gospel truth.
When I checked the source of the YouTube post, I discovered that it was a content made by an American, who probably had never even been to the Philippines. For sure, the only thing that American knows about the Philippines is the fact that Filipinos are among the biggest users of social media (the second, according to the latest study).
Declaring Barbie Forteza as the richest actress in the Philippines was a wild guess. When that vlog was put together, it must have coincided with a promo for a new show that Barbie made for her home studio. No doubt, that made her very visible on the internet during that period — prompting the clueless American vlogger to herald her as the country’s wealthiest actress.
Around that time, the late John Regala was also in the news. This was when he fainted in a crowded section of Pasay City. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about the Urian-winning action star. Poor John had become a charity case by then.
Since Regala became newsworthy all of a sudden, some enterprising people began featuring him in their respective YouTube channels. There was one that showed how prosperous his life was before the reversal of fortune.
And so, we were treated to photo after photo of his house supposedly taken during the peak of his career. His house was so fabulous, it had a view of Lake Tahoe!
But this was what floored me. His bedsheets and pillowcases came in animal prints! Any action star would shoot himself in the head first before getting caught under the sheets with animal prints.
Unless he had become a gigolo and began bedding matrons who, hmm, adore prints in animal patterns. Oh, what some vloggers do for content.
Last week, there was a post on Facebook where Bea Alonzo supposedly bewailed her fate. The headline said: “Bakit ako binigyan ng ganitong sakit? (Why was I given this kind of illness?)”
There was a photo that showed her in extreme pain. In another picture, somebody in medical uniform was attending to her.
In the comments section, most everyone sent her “get well” wishes. Some advised her to pray — invoking even the name of Padre Pio, who is the patron saint of healing.
The nasty ones said it was karma. Karma for what? For moving from ABS-CBN to GMA7? I never realized that was such a grievous sin.
Thank heavens, there were also the less gullible ones who cried: “Fake news!” An observant netizen even pointed out the fact that one of the photos used for this obviously false item was taken during the time of the pandemic — when the actress had her herself vaccinated.
Sadly, more people believed this post compared to those who were able to detect the falsity of such news. But the click bait had been bitten and the one who posted it should now be laughing all the way to the bank.
Now, about a month ago, there was also this throwback feature on Facebook that showed “the original house of Nora Aunor.” Of course, it got so many likes.
I can imagine that Nora had her first house (was it in BF Homes in Parañaque?) in the late 1960s or early 1970s. But why was there a flat screen TV mounted on the wall? As usual, a lot of netizens went oohing over the superstar’s supposed first home – failing to note the presence of the smart TV on one side of the living room.
A follow-up post showed the facade of Nora Aunor’s supposed present residence. It’s a beautiful house — like it leaped out of a page of some American architectural digest. Looking at the vegetation around the house, however, I saw cypress trees and plants that grow only in the United States. What? No “gabi” (taro) leaves? Most Bicolanos I know grow that – even those currently living in sunshiny Southern California.
But the netizens bought it! A lot of them said that it was the result of many years of hard work. Those who tried to point out that Nora had already disposed of her properties were immediately shot down by the rabid fans of the superstar.
The biggest fake news in recent days, however, is about the “last will and testament” of Gloria Romero. It is a very detailed account. Supposedly, Gloria Romero left behind P717,908,554.
Forty percent of that amount is supposed to go into the establishment of a new high school in Pangasinan; 30 percent will be given to three different charities to be managed by various LGUs; 15 percent will be inherited by Gloria’s daughter Maritess Gutierrez, while the remaining 15 percent will go to grandson Christopher Balbin.
That means Maritess and son Christopher will have P107,686,283 each. Where in heaven’s name did those figures come from?
Gloria Romero, for sure, did not leave this earth penniless. But the amount that came out in that post — picked up by other sites and embellished further — is ridiculous.
During Gloria’s hospitalization, the family incurred a lot of medical expenses. If they had that amount, Maritess would not have cried ouch every time a medical person went inside Gloria’s room wearing a new PPE suit, which can only be worn once.
A doctor or nurse had to don a new Personal Protective Equipment to check on Gloria during her 16-day confinement — and that suit didn’t come cheap! Ask anyone who had a Covid patient in the hospital during the pandemic.
The original post of that fake news had to come out at a time when Maritess and Christopher were deep into mourning. It was during a period when they had to deal with a thousand and one details concerning the wake and the subsequent cremation rites. Whoever started that post is without soul.
Fortunately, Gloria Romero has a new generation of fans — in their 20s and 30s — who are social media-savvy. I asked one of them, Renz Spangler, to please trace the source of the fake news. He issued a warning on the internet and within hours, somebody admitted to the crime. It is a crime, a cybercrime, if you ask me.
The post came from Pinoy History Team. I am going to quote its “official statement” verbatim: “In Maritess Gutierrez’s interview in 2023, she did not mention the total amount of money her mother had saved, but she herself said that half of it would be for her, and the rest for three charities and the aforementioned school to be built in Bataan.
“As part of editing this Post, we have removed the Admin who put the exact amount or division of her inheritance, insisting that it was just an estimate but it immediately went viral. We sincerely apologize to the Galla family for the false amount that should be part of the confidentiality.
“On behalf of the team, we admit our mistake and rest assured that our next posts are true and not misleading, this is a time when we must be in solidarity and mourning. Thank you for your understanding.”
First of all, I doubt very much if Maritess ever gave an interview where she talked about money. She is too decent to discuss finances even among friends.
What is baffling is how they came up with what this site insists are estimated figures. P717,908,554? What was their basis?
Incidentally, the same post also said that Gloria left behind a mansion worth P19,167,242. Such ignorance. A mansion worth P19M? Is that just the structure? What about the land it stands on? Let me see them build a mansion with that amount.
Of course, Gloria was able to build for herself a house in posh New Manila in the early 1960s. But it’s not a mansion. It’s a very nice home though in a very quiet neighborhood. And definitely, it’s worth way, way over P19M!
At the time of her death, Gloria had a comfortable life. But swim in money she did not! Most of her earnings came from acting. She did try to get into business one time — when she put up a handicraft kiosk at the old Manila International Airport. But that business went up in smoke when the airport — then called MIA — was gutted by fire in the early 1970s.
What is annoying is that so many other sites decided to piggyback on the original post — just to make money off Gloria Romero’s death. Somebody from a major insurance company even wants to lure social media users to come to him for financial advice — so they’d end up as rich as Gloria.
The comments on Facebook are very disappointing. A large percentage actually bought the fake news peddled on social media. There were, of course, those who dismissed such claims. But they’re a small tribe.
With so many fake news proliferating on the internet, critical thinking is necessary. But not everyone is capable of that. So many netizens still bite anything they read on Facebook hook, line and sinker — including the whole boat of fabrications.
By middle of this week, there were still posts about the supposed last will and testament of Gloria Romero. No such thing exists!
Fortunately, there is an ongoing congressional hearing that aims to put a stop to content creators who sell fake news on the internet. But the unscrupulous vloggers don’t seem bothered.
Only the other day, I read a Facebook post claiming that Rufa Mae Quinto finished BS Economics — Magna Cum Laude from the Ateneo de Manila University. The comments section was immediately filled with congratulatory messages. Oh, well.
And so now, as I end this article, let me just share with you this piece of valuable information: Did you know that Santa Claus is Waray?