'Mag-verify muna': Khonghun slams share-happy netizens over fake 'presidential son' incident
At A Glance
- Deputy Speaker Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun is asking netizens to hit the brakes on sharing unverified information or content on social media.
Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun (PPAB)
Deputy Speaker Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun is asking netizens to hit the brakes on sharing unverified information or content on social media.
This, after reports spread on over the weekend that a “presidential son” was harassed along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). This turned out to be fake news.
“Simple lang po ang pakiusap namin: verify before you share. Huwag maging instrumento ng kasinungalingan (Our request is simple: verify before you share. Do not be an instrument of falsehood),” Khonghun said in an appeal to his fellow Filipinos on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22.
“In an age where information travels fast, verification is more important than sensationalism. We must not allow rumors to dictate the national conversation,” Khonghun said.
Social media posts claimed that shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, a three-vehicle motorcade blocked the vehicle carrying a presidential son along NLEX, and that about 15 men from Bulacan-registered vehicles later confronted the convoy after it allegedly overtook cars occupying all three lanes.
Malacañang denied the reported road harassment, with Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez saying in a Viber message to reporters Saturday night that no incident involving any of the three presidential sons took place.
One of them is Khonghun's colleague in the House of Representatives--Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos.
“Kung wala namang nangyari at malinaw na itinanggi na ng Malacañang, tigilan na natin ang pagpapakalat ng fake news. Ang ganitong klaseng haka-haka ay nakakasira at nagdudulot lang ng kalituhan sa publiko,” the deputy speaker said.
(If nothing really happened and Malacañang has already clearly denied it, then let us stop spreading fake news. This kind of speculation only causes harm and confusion among the public.)
Khonghun described the fabrication or amplification of false incidents involving members of the First Family as “dangerous and irresponsible".
“Hindi biro ang gumawa o magpakalat ng ganitong istorya (To create and spread such news is no joke). It undermines public trust and diverts attention from real issues that deserve serious discussion,” he further said.