VERA Files
A week after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of Bamban, Tarlac City Mayor Alice Guo, a YouTube video made the rounds claiming that the controversial mayor was killed. This is not true.
On June 7, a YouTube channel published the spurious video that continues to circulate this week with this headline:
“JUSKO PO! GRABE PALA ang NANG-YARI kay MAYOR ALICE GUO KUMPIRMADO na RISA HONTIVEROS DI MAKAPANIWALA (Oh, my God! What happened to Mayor Alice Guo is grave, it’s confirmed. Sen. Risa Hontiveros can’t believe it).”
Showing a black-and-white photo of the controversial mayor, the following text can also be read on the video’s thumbnail:
“LAGOT! TINUMBA NA. NA-SHOCKED LAHAT! ALICE GUO KUMPIRMADO (Oh, no! [She] was killed. All were shocked! Alice Guo, confirmed).”
The 15-minute video showed no evidence to prove that Guo is “confirmed” dead and instead showed comments of netizens saying the mayor should be imprisoned if she really is allegedly involved with money laundering and other crimes.
The video’s headline is clickbait. Guo is alive. In a June 9 Facebook post, she expressed her gratitude to her supporters who organized a prayer rally in support of her legal battle.
Guo filed a motion for reconsideration asking the Office of the Ombudsman to lift her six-month suspension, saying all the accusations against her were “extremely distorted and exaggerated.”
This video emerged amid the ongoing Senate investigation on Guo’s alleged links to illegal Chinese gaming operations. Last week, the Senate held an executive session to discuss issues related to the suspended mayor.
YouTube channel PINAS BALITA TV (created on March 22, 2022) published the video that could have reached over 109,000 YouTube users. It garnered over 18,000 views and 360 online interactions.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
