If you thought the Philippine government’s communications department is all maxed out when it comes to factual errors, think again. Yesterday, its flagship television network apologized for another flub wherein it used a photoshopped image of a Chinese ship for a report about the Philippine Navy.
This came to light on Monday when two Facebook pages shared screenshots of a report by the People’s Television Network (PTV).
The report in question was broadcast on Sunday and was about President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to send a Philippine Navy ship to rescue the Filipino workers who were abducted in Libya.
“Shame on you PTV for broadcasting altered photos claiming these as current assets of our Philippine Navy. You presented false and misleading information to the public. #FakeNews #ThisIsWhereOurTaxesGo” Facebook page Philippines Defense Forces Forum wrote.
https://www.facebook.com/philippinesdefense/posts/2018438801605059
The post now has more than 1,000 reactions and more than 900 shares.
In the photos, it can be seen that the ship was photoshopped so that it looks like it’s carrying the Philippine flag and not China’s flag.
Max Defense Philippines, another Facebook page, shared a side by side comparison on the same day.
https://www.facebook.com/Maxdefense/posts/781159225388070
This post now has close to 2,000 reactions and shares.
According to PTV’s statement released yesterday, the photo was downloaded from the internet by the video editor of its Ulat Bayan show.
The statement described the incident as an “inadvertent use of wrong photos.”
“Please be advised that the video editor responsible for downloading and using the said photos without proper verification has already been sanctioned,” the statement reads.
PTV also said that it would “take more diligent measures” to present accurate news.
However, some netizens allege that the photo was not merely “downloaded” but “manipulated” by the government itself.
Facebook user Gerald Pascua said: “The photo was manipulated. So how is that ‘inadvertent use’? You are making it worse by wrongly apologizing for the wrong things.”
“Downloading is one, but photoshopping and changing certain features to mislead is another thing. Let’s [h]elp stop fake news attitude in journalism,” Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa said.
According to a report by TV5’s Interaksyon, this may not even be the first time the government media used this photo. The website Concept News Central used the same photo with the Philippine flag in a story it credited to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Both PTV and the PNA are under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). The PCOO has infamously committed other factual errors, including the time it referred to Norway as “Norwegia” in a Facebook post.
