MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) assistant secretary Mocha Uson is embroiled in a new controversy after sharing an unverified photo of the Philippine Army which turned out to be an image taken in Honduras.
On Sunday, May 28, Uson showed her support to the Philippine troops and asked for prayers for them by sharing the said photo originally shared by the Facebook page CinEmotion Digital Films. The image shows alleged Filipino soldiers kneeling in prayer.
In CinEmotion Digital Films’ post, it revealed that the photo was “copypasted from the owner.” The owner of photo wasn’t credited in the caption.
Despite seeing this, Uson didn’t verify the authenticity of the photo before sharing it to her more than 5 million followers on Facebook.
It was Twitter user @altteamafp who found out that the image was actually captured in Honduras and that the men in the photo weren’t Filipinos nor soldiers. In the original post that accompanied the photo, the caption says "Honduran police call on God to stop violence in Honduras.”
Back in August 2016, Uson, along with other supporters of the Duterte administration, was called out after sharing a photo of a nine-year-old girl raped and murdered to condemn the church, the media as well as human rights activists who are critical of President Rodrigo Duterte for their supposed silence in the said crime. The photo, which quickly became viral, turned out to be taken in the municipality of Altamira in Brazil in December 2014. The rape and murder victim identified as Evelin Nicole da Silva Sousa wasn’t Filipino.
Uson didn’t apologize for sharing the photo claiming that she didn’t say that the crime occurred in the Philippines. She also stressed that she deleted the post once she discovered it was fake.
An entertainer, blogger and a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Uson served as a board member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from January 27, 2017 until she was recently appointed as an official of PCOO.
--Mini, The Summit Express
On Sunday, May 28, Uson showed her support to the Philippine troops and asked for prayers for them by sharing the said photo originally shared by the Facebook page CinEmotion Digital Films. The image shows alleged Filipino soldiers kneeling in prayer.
In CinEmotion Digital Films’ post, it revealed that the photo was “copypasted from the owner.” The owner of photo wasn’t credited in the caption.
Despite seeing this, Uson didn’t verify the authenticity of the photo before sharing it to her more than 5 million followers on Facebook.
It was Twitter user @altteamafp who found out that the image was actually captured in Honduras and that the men in the photo weren’t Filipinos nor soldiers. In the original post that accompanied the photo, the caption says "Honduran police call on God to stop violence in Honduras.”
Back in August 2016, Uson, along with other supporters of the Duterte administration, was called out after sharing a photo of a nine-year-old girl raped and murdered to condemn the church, the media as well as human rights activists who are critical of President Rodrigo Duterte for their supposed silence in the said crime. The photo, which quickly became viral, turned out to be taken in the municipality of Altamira in Brazil in December 2014. The rape and murder victim identified as Evelin Nicole da Silva Sousa wasn’t Filipino.
Uson didn’t apologize for sharing the photo claiming that she didn’t say that the crime occurred in the Philippines. She also stressed that she deleted the post once she discovered it was fake.
An entertainer, blogger and a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Uson served as a board member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) from January 27, 2017 until she was recently appointed as an official of PCOO.
--Mini, The Summit Express
