Jonathan Frederic De Santos

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined leaders of the Catholic Church and the members of the diplomatic community at the reception commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Holy See. Presidential Communications Office release

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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1775887681448666042702_1472140354961216_4224231350492392920_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined leaders of the Catholic Church and the members of the diplomatic community at the reception commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Holy See. Presidential Communications Office release"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined leaders of the Catholic Church and the members of the diplomatic community at the reception commemorating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Holy See. <em>Presidential Communications Office release</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Persistent and insistent speculation on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s health pose a threat to public trust in media, which has been recovering since 2020 but remains low.</p><p>In an online exchange with ABS-CBN News, disinformation researcher and journalist Nikko Balbedina of news and fact-checking site PressOnePH said the current wave of rumors is particularly aggressive and is two-pronged.</p><p>“Disinformation actors are not merely amplifying false narratives through repetitive posting; they are actively trying to discredit legitimate media reports that debunk their claims,” he said.</p><p>Social media users this week accused the Presidential Communications Office and media outfits of manipulating photos supposedly to make it seem Marcos Jr. has been attending public events and not either seriously ill or dead as personalities associated with the Duterte family allege.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/8/-palabiro-ang-social-media-marcos-debunks-rumors-of-deteriorating-health-1837">‘Palabiro ang social media’: Marcos debunks rumors of deteriorating health<br/></a></div><p>Vice President Sara Duterte has not commented on the rumors, responding only with &quot;good luck sa kanya (I wish him good luck)&quot; <a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/9/vp-duterte-on-lowering-pump-prices-end-war-or-find-other-sources-of-fuel-1648">when media in Davao City asked her about the issue.</a></p><p>Journalists and newsrooms have rejected the allegations of photo manipulation and social media accounts of the Manila Cathedral and the US Embassy have posted pictures from the events the president was at.</p><p>The Presidential Photojournalists Association, in a statement Friday, said members &quot;are physically present during these engagements&quot; and photos submitted to and published by their newsrooms undergo strict vetting.</p><p>“We are seeing a dangerous resurgence of the tactic where the press is demonized simply for reporting facts that contradict the machinery&#x27;s agenda,” Balbedina, who also tracks Chinese disinformation efforts, said.</p><p>According to the <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2025/philippines">Reuters Digital News Report 2025</a>, public trust in media in the Philippines was at 38% that year.</p><p>While that was up from the 20% towards the end of Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s presidency, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report noted that trust &quot;slid over the past year amid intensified political disinformation, at least some of which is aimed at mainstream outlets for allegedly biased coverage.&quot;</p><p>Balbedina believes the rumors are meant to portray Marcos Jr. as unfit and frame Duterte as the &quot;necessary alternative&quot;.</p><p>He notes talk of the president&#x27;s health has intensified in a &quot;high-stakes political environment&quot; of impeachment proceedings against Duterte and the approaching 2028 elections.</p><p>He said the potential damage to media credibility &quot;will play out in the coming elections and in the administration that will follow it.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/10/filipinos-not-gullible-but-victimized-by-disinformation-professor-1157">Filipinos ‘not gullible, but victimized’ by disinformation — professor</a></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid033MAf3Fa2Hvo2pqWvpMyM1bAcBCn6ASDF63UPXWYtfrNCZmq9dfxwzpALa9g44sXpl%26id%3D100064521469554&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="815" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;PUNITIVE&#x27; PALACE ACTIONS</strong></div><p>The Palace has raised the alarm on what it calls a &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/9/malaca-ang-tracing-sudden-coordinated-disinformation-surge-vs-marcos-1204">sudden and coordinated surge in disinformation</a>&quot; about Marcos Jr.&#x27;s health, with the PCO announcing it will put up a website where the public can report false claims about it.</p><p>The PCO has also said it will work with the Department of Justice to build cases against the people behind the disinformation campaigns, an approach that Balbedina said carries a &quot;severe risk&quot; of weaponization, or misuse.</p><p>&quot;We have seen this historically and globally: State-sponsored anti-disinformation policies and movements often create a chilling effect on freedom of the press and freedom of expression,&quot; he said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/10/pco-to-launch-website-against-fake-news-2013">PCO to launch website against fake news<br/></a></div><p>He warned that punitive mechanisms can be misused &quot;to target journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens expressing legitimate grievances&quot; instead of the malicious troll farms that engage in disinformation.</p><p>Like many press freedom and free speech advocates, Balbedina said stronger media and information literacy (MIL) would be a better way to address the problem.</p><p>He acknowledged, however, that &quot;most MIL initiatives simply do not reach the vulnerable demographics that need them the most&quot; as he called for collective action against the problem.</p><p>He said mainstream networks should increase MIL efforts, possibly with government support and subsidies. Efforts should also be replicated at the local government level, he said, with localized content in the vernacular.</p><p>&quot;Beyond institutional education, we need to develop interactive, community-led interventions that directly address how disinformation operates and spreads on platforms like Facebook and TikTok,&quot; he said, adding tech platforms must be made to be transparent about their algorithms.</p><p>&quot;Education alone cannot outpace algorithms that are deliberately designed to prioritize outrage over facts,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>“Disinformation actors are not merely amplifying false narratives through repetitive posting; they are actively trying to discredit legitimate media reports that debunk their claims,” researcher and journalist Nikko Balbedina said.</p>

“Disinformation actors are not merely amplifying false narratives through repetitive posting; they are actively trying to discredit legitimate media reports that debunk their claims,” researcher and journalist Nikko Balbedina said.

Media a target of Marcos Jr. health rumors too — disinformation researcher

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Media a target of Marcos Jr. health rumors too — disinformation researcher

Jonathan de Santos,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 11, 2026 03:01 PM PHT

|

Updated April 11, 2026 03:02 PM PHT

Read More:

Disinformation

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Sara Duterte

Social media

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