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A claim has been shared in multiple social media posts in the Philippines that two mainstream broadcasters did not report on billions of dollars' worth of investment pledges that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr secured during state visits to Indonesia and Singapore in September 2022. But the claim is false. The broadcasters, GMA and ABS-CBN, both produced video and text reports about the deals. This was not reported by GMA or ABS, reads the caption of a post shared on Facebook here on September 11. It contains a video report from local broadcaster NET25 about investment pledges worth 800 billion pesos ($ 13.6 billion ) that Marcos secured during state visits to Indonesia and Singapore. According to local media outlet Inquirer.net, NET25 is the TV station of a religious sect that backed Marcos for president during the 2022 election. Tagalog-language text above the video, which appears to have first been shared on TikTok, reads, Wow P800-B investment was secured by PRES BBM from Indonesia and Singapore. The initials BBM refer to Marcos, whose nickname is Bongbong. Text below the video reads, Our beloved President BBM is making us very proud. Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, captured on October 4, 2022 GMA and ABS-CBN, two of the biggest television networks in the Philippines, are frequent targets of misinformation spread by Marcos supporters. AFP has previously debunked false claims the channels did not cover Marcos' attendance at a memorial for slain police officers or his visit to shelters erected after a powerful typhoon. According to local news outlet Rappler, pro-Marcos accounts stepped up online attacks against journalists ahead of the 2022 election that Marcos won. Ahead of the election, the Marcos camp also declined an interview with a reporter from GMA because they believed she was biased against the Marcoses, according to Inquirer.net . The claim that GMA and ABS-CBN did not report on the investment pledges was also shared elsewhere on Facebook here , here and here . The claim, however, is false; both networks reported on the deals in their flagship evening news programmes and posted their reports on social media. Extensive reports Keyword searches on Google found ABS-CBN posted a report about the investment pledges on its official Facebook page on September 8. P800-B investment pledges were brought home by Marcos from Indonesia, Singapore, reads the title of the Facebook post. The ABS-CBN report includes clips of Marcos talking about the signing of agreements at a press conference -- footage that was also used in the Net25 report. Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and a corresponding frame in ABS-CBN's report (right): Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and a corresponding frame in ABS-CBN's report (right) The broadcaster also published an article about the deals on its website showing a breakdown of the pledges from Indonesia and Singapore. GMA News also reported on the deals in a video report published on its official YouTube channel on September 8. P800-B worth of investment, brought by PBBM from his state visit to Indonesia and Singapore, reads the title of the YouTube post. Articles about the agreements were also published on the GMA News website on September 6 and 7 here and here . The pledged investments were also covered by other Philippine media organisations, including Inquirer.net , Manila Bulletin and Philstar .
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