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Thursday, May 14, 2026

Doctored video falsely claims Philippine official 'shamed' veteran journalist in interview - AFP Factcheck

A video with tens of thousands of views claims an incoming member of Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr's cabinet "shamed" a journalist on national television for allegedly attacking Marcos. But the video had been digitally manipulated, and an AFP review of journalist Karen Davila's actual interview with incoming finance chief Benjamin Diokno found the video's claim is fabricated.

The video was shared on May 30 on a YouTube channel called Showbiz Fanaticz that has a history of sharing misinformation.

It was viewed over 62,000 times.

Its caption states Benjamin Diokno -- the incumbent central bank chief who Marcos Jr named finance secretary -- had a tense interview with veteran Filipino journalist Karen Davila.

During a voiceover in local language Tagalog, a commentator says: "Watch the exclusive video clip where central bank governor and ongoing [sic] finance secretary Benjamin Diokno could not contain himself and shamed ABS-CBN reporter Karen Davila on national TV."

The same voiceover claims Diokno told Davila to "stop throwing attacks" after she purportedly said Marcos Jr should pay the archipelago nation's debt to other countries and authorities.

The son and namesake of the country's late dictator cemented a landslide win in last month's elections -- an astonishing reversal in the fortunes of the Marcos family who have gone from the presidential palace to pariahs and back again in the space of a few decades.

The identical video was also shared on Facebook ...



Read Full Story: https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32BY6MH