FALSE

Several Facebook (FB) pages published a statement attributed to Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, where the monarch supposedly congratulated Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for winning the presidential elections. It is a satire.

The quote card with the alleged statement, and dated May 11, 2021, read: “Today, I wear red to express my congratulations to the Philippines’ President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. I know that he is a good leader. Unfortunately, the oligarchs are destroying his name, and the netizens just keep complaining. Therefore, I can say, Philippines doesn’t have the worse governance. It has the worst citizens.”

Although posted on May 11, 2022, the date indicated in the fabricated card already raises a red flag since the elections culminated just a few days ago. Further, it bore logos of “horbpQuirer.net” and “HORBP Files,” which imitate those of the media organizations Inquirer.net and VERA Files.

In small print and with letters barely visible are the labels “satire” and “not true” that appear on the lower right corner of the card. Queen Elizabeth never issued such a statement, whether in May 2021, or after the release earlier this week of partial and unofficial vote tallies for the 2022 elections.

Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.

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VERA Files is a nonstock, nonprofit independent media organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Company Registration No. CN200808072). Founded in March 2008, it is published by veteran Filipino journalists taking a deeper look into current Philippine issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

VERA Files was founded by journalists Ellen Tordesillas, Luz Rimban, Booma Cruz, Jennifer Santiago, Yvonne T. Chua and Chit Estella (who passed away in a road crash on May 13, 2011).

www.verafiles.org