On April 12, Damariñas City councilor Kiko Barzaga posted a fake quote card of Vice President Leni Robredo on his Facebook (FB) page.
The bogus graphic appeared as if Robredo said the “Barzagas are f*cking traitors” and that she called them a “whole family of idiots who supports dynasties of murderers.”
Although the quote card attributed the remark to a “comment on reddit.com by u/whydobearsbark Leni Robredo supporter,” the quote and Robredo’s name were in yellow to appear as if she said the bogus statement.
The additional text about the Reddit user was set in light gray font that blends into the graphic’s background. The fake graphic also has a sizable image of the vice president speaking into a microphone.
Robredo never referred to the Barzaga family as traitors or idiots.
The quote was a paraphrased version of a comment left by the Reddit user whydobearsbark on a Feb. 27 discussion thread concerning the councilor.
“Barzagas are f*cking traitors then. Whole family of idiots who supports dynasties of murderers. While their platforms are empty, so are their brains as pointed out by Walden Bello, they are idiots,” the user wrote.
The Reddit user also taunted Barzaga to take a screenshot of his comment and post it on his social media platforms.
Barzaga’s FB post garnered over 3,800 reactions and 1,000 shares as of writing.
The councilor’s parents, Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga and Dasmariñas Mayor Jenny Austria Barzaga, endorsed Robredo during their proclamation rally on March 27. The younger Barzaga meanwhile is a vocal supporter of frontrunner presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Barzaga’s fake and misleading post surfaced the same day a volunteer group that initially backed the presidential run of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso shifted its support to Robredo.
Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to ‘VERA, the truth bot’ on Viber.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)