VERA Files

VERA Files is a nonstock, nonprofit, independent media organization. Founded in March 2008, it is published by veteran Filipino journalists taking a deeper look into current Philippine issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Indonesia did NOT blow up 60 Chinese ships

A video posted on YouTube and Facebook (FB) falsely claims that the Indonesian government sunk 60 Chinese ships that were fishing in their territory last March 29. Filipino YouTube channel Maki Trip and Facebook (FB) page Military TodaysTodayss uploaded the untrue “breaking

April 15, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Video shows suicide incident in France, NOT ‘zombie virus’ in US

A reel making the rounds on Facebook (FB) supposedly shows a throng of people rushing outside a building in the United States (U.S.) in an attempt to escape a “zombie virus” plague. This is not true. From April 4 to 7, several

April 15, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: FB pages POSE as doctor’s page, sell unlisted niacinamide toothpaste

Three Facebook (FB) pages are using the name of Kilimanjaro Tiwaquen, a Filipino licensed physician with 4.1 million followers on the platform, to promote a niacinamide toothpaste product. “I’m not endorsing the Niacinamide toothpaste,” Tiwaquen said in a March 26 FB post.

April 14, 2023

Institutions

The line ‘ICC has no jurisdiction’ is fake news

It has become an alibi of convenience by Rodrigo Duterte’s apologists in government, oft repeated a thousand times to transform it into Goebbelsian truth. It has been said by Bongbong Marcos, Juan Ponce Enrile, Menardo Guevarra and the Office of the Solicitor

April 14, 2023

Institutions

Survey says… – VERA Files

Kung ikaw ang i-survey, paano mo masasabi na aprub ka sa performance ng presidente o bise presidente? Alamin sa komentaryo ni Christian Esguerra ngayong linggo: Pwede rin pakinggan sa Spotify, Spotify for Podcasters VERA Files followers will be treated to Christian’s

April 14, 2023

Institutions

Balikatan 2023: The largest gathering of forces

Underscoring the warming of relations between the Philippines and the United States under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Balikatan 2023 started on April 11 with 17,600 Filipino and American soldiers participating, the largest gathering of forces in the history of the

April 13, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: UP budget NOT slashed by P2.5B ‘after recent protests’

A YouTube video falsely claims that President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte cut P2.5 billion from the University of the Philippines’ (UP) 2023 budget after recent protests at the Diliman campus. The government had finalized the UP system’s 2023

April 13, 2023

Institutions

ICC prosecutor says Duterte and top officials “encouraged” drug war killings, urges dismissal of PH appeal to block probe

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has insisted that the “extremely serious” drug-related crimes committed during the Duterte administration were encouraged by the former president himself and other top state officials. In a petition filed on April 4, Khan urged the

April 12, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Filipinos share Celine Dion DEATH HOAX on FB

Two Filipino Facebook (FB) users shared TikTok videos allegedly showing Celine Dion on her deathbed. The woman in the video is not the Canadian singer. “Rest in Peace Celine Dion,” the text in the videos read. The Filipino netizens’ FB Reels appeared

April 12, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: US Coast Guard did NOT sink Chinese ships in West PH Sea

A video on Facebook (FB) is erroneously claiming that a cutter vessel of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) fired at two Chinese ships for allegedly blocking the superpower’s vessel from entering the West Philippine Sea. On March 27, an FB page

April 11, 2023