
Pro-Duterte posts misrepresent ICC chief's comments on court's jurisdiction
The clip shows ICC President Tomoko Akane saying the court does not have jurisdiction if "crimes occur on the soil of non-state parties by non-state parties or persons".
Tagalog-language text on the video, using a popular nickname for Duterte, reads: "This is it! The ICC president herself said it. Father Digong can go home early."
The post surfaced following Duterte's arrest on March 11; he was then put on plane to the ICC in the Netherlands to face a crimes against humanity charge tied to his drug war in which thousands were killed (archived link).
The 79-year-old is awaiting a confirmation of charges hearing scheduled for September 23 where he will have the opportunity to contest the accusations against him (archived link).
Image
Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on March 26, 2025
The clip also circulated in other social media posts alongside the same claim, racking up over 150,000 views in total.
But the clip does not show the ICC president speaking about Duterte's case or whether it falls within the court's jurisdiction.
While Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, in 2019 after the tribunal began looking into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings during his term, the court ruled that alleged crimes committed prior to the withdrawal remained under its jurisdiction (archived link).
The ICC reiterated this position after Duterte's arrest, saying the case "falls within the jurisdiction of the Court as the alleged crimes occurred during the period when the Philippines was a State Party to the Rome Statute" (archived link).
European Parliament meeting
A keyword search on Google found the falsely shared clip corresponds to a longer video posted on the website of the European Parliament (archived link).
Akane was addressing a joint meeting of the European Parliament's human rights subcommittee and legal affairs committee on March 19 (archived link).
Image
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the European Parliament video (right)
The clip used in the false posts shows part of Akane's response to a question raised by Dainius Zalimas, a member of the European Parliament from Lithuania.
At the video's 11:13:40 mark, Zalimas asks Akane whether there is any need to adjust the Rome Statute to include crimes such as ecocide or other crimes against the environment.
She begins her response at the 11:30:30 mark by stating that ecocide is not in the statute, and it is "up to the state parties to amend the Rome Statute if you feel it is necessary to incorporate it, likewise with other crimes as well".
The clip used in the false posts follows at the 11:31:40 mark, where she lays out the limits of the ICC's jurisdiction.
She does not mention Duterte's case in the answer, or in response to any other questions at the European Parliament meeting.
AFP has previously debunked a similar false claim spread by Duterte's supporters suggesting the ICC lacks jurisdiction to charge the former president here.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Meta to ban political ads in EU due to bloc's 'unworkable' rules
The EU has a bolstered legal armoury to rein in Big Tech, against which Meta has hit out with the support of the US administration under President Donald Trump. "This is a difficult decision -- one we've taken in response to the EU's incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation," the company said. Political, electoral and social issue advertising will no longer be allowed from October in the bloc, it said, because of "unworkable requirements" under the new rules. "Unfortunately, the TTPA introduces significant, additional obligations to our processes and systems that create an untenable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU," Meta added. The EU says its political advertising rules seek to increase transparency in online advertising after Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, which came to light in 2018. Cambridge Analytica was a consulting firm that was found to have improperly accessed personal data from millions of Facebook users for targeted political advertising, particularly during the 2016 US election and Brexit referendum. The change is set to impact Meta's flagship platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as WhatsApp -- which is largely ad-free but announced in June it would be introducing new advertising features in some parts of the app. Meta said it was "not the only company to have been forced into this position". Google last year announced it would also prevent political advertising in the EU from October 2025 because of the "significant new operational challenges and legal uncertainties". Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been highly critical of European rules, accusing Brussels in January of "censorship" and equating EU fines against the company to tariffs. The latest row between Meta and the EU has been over the firm's "pay or consent" system. The EU imposed a 200-million-euro ($235-million) fine in April after concluding Meta violated rules on the use of personal data on Facebook and Instagram. The company faces additional daily penalties if it does not make changes, with Brussels yet to decide whether Meta has modified the platforms enough to avoid more fines.


AFP
11 hours ago
- AFP
Old clip of Yangon flash mob protest misrepresented as new anti-junta demonstration
"General Strike Committee, students' unions, and marchers from other townships demonstrated to overthrow the military dictatorship today on July 7 in Pansodan, Yangon," reads part of the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook video shared on July 7, 2025. The video -- which was viewed more than 1.7 million times -- shows people hurriedly gathering for a street protest, chanting slogans and flashing the Hunger Games-inspired three finger salute popular among pro-democracy protesters. A banner held up by those at the front of the protest reads, "July 7 keep the spirit and fight" and "Oust the military dictatorship by all means". Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 23, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The video was also shared in similar Facebook, Instagram and TikTok posts. It circulated on the anniversary of the bloody 1962 blitz on students protesting against military rule in Yangon University. According to an article published by The Irrawaddy news outlet, eyewitnesses said hundreds were killed (archived link). Myanmar has been ruled almost continually by the military since 1962, just over a decade since independence from Britain. A 2021 coup ended a decade of transition from outright military rule, with generals justifying the power grab by alleging fraud in the previous November's elections that democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won in a landslide (archived link). The coup sparked a civil war that has killed thousands, and left 3.5 million displaced and half the nation in poverty (archived link). While local media reported that several townships in Myanmar as well as Burmese communities in South Korea and Thailand commemorated the 1962 student movement, the video circulating online does not show a protest that occurred in Yangon in July 2025 (archived here, here and here). Yangon protest 2021 A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage published four years earlier by local news outlet Mizzima (archived link). The July 7, 2021 post reads: Image Screenshot comparison of falsely shared clip (left) and the Mizzima video posted on July 7, 2021 (right) AFP reporters said the protest involved around 100 demonstrators who moved quickly through Yangon before scattering down side streets or jumping into waiting cars about two minutes later (archived link). Informants had tipped off police to previous flash mob protests and demonstrators had been arrested, read an AFP article from the time. An who covered the protest confirmed the circulating video showed the 2021 demonstration. "This is reuploaded misinformation to farm engagement," they said. An AFP photo journalist also said the video showed the 2021 Yangon protest: "This was when flash protests were being organised amidst violent crackdowns targeting anti-coup protestors." "There were no protests in Yangon on July 7, 2025," they added. The falsely circulating video also corresponds to a video AFP published of the 2021 demonstration (archived link). "Around a hundred protesters march in central Yangon to mark the anniversary of the 1962 Yangon university protests during which more than a hundred people died and thousands were arrested in a violent crackdown by the military regime," reads part of the video's description. AFP has debunked other false claims about Myanmar's military coup and the subsequent unrest.


AFP
15 hours ago
- AFP
Image of 'Alligator Alcatraz' is AI-generated
"Alligator Alcatraz, Trump's new illegal immigration prison deep in the Everglades," reads a post sharing the image on July 2, 2025 to an Australia-based Facebook group with more than 114,000 followers. Image Screenshot of the false post shared on Australian social media. The image was captured on July 22, 2025, and the red cross was added by AFP. The same image was shared by other Facebook users around the world, including in the United States, Canada and Greece. It did not just stay on social media -- several websites also published the image alongside articles about Trump's visit. The image circulated as Trump toured a new migrant detention centre in Florida in early July (archived here and here). The new facility, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz", is built at the disused Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport deep in the Everglades, surrounded by swamps that are home to creatures including alligators and poisonous snakes. is a reference to Alcatraz Island, the former prison in San Francisco. of the Trump administration's determination to look tough as it pursues its policy of mass deportations of undocumented migrants. Some users in Australia appear to believe the image is genuine. "I wish the Australian government would put their foot down on immigration. Love this idea," a user wrote. Another commented, "That is A Huge Active Moat! surrounding it. At Their Peril if they try to Escape!" Inauthentic picture But the image is not a genuine depiction of the Florida detention centre, according to satellite images from Google Maps, which depict the location without a moat (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison between the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Florida shown on Google Maps (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. The images were captured on July 23, 2025. Pictures taken by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna on July 7, 2025 showing aerial views of the detention facility and its surrounding area also bear no resemblance to the circulated image. Image Comparison between an aerial view of the migrant detention center taken on July 7, 2025 by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. Image Comparison between an aerial view of the migrant detention center taken on July 7, 2025, by AFP photographer Chandan Khanna (left) and the image shared on social media (right). The red cross was added by AFP. Other media outlets also published photos and footage that do not match the AI-generated image (archived here and here). Several visual inconsistencies suggest the image is fabricated, including the shape of the reptiles in the water, making them unlikely to be alligators. It also appears that several vehicles have a crumpled appearance, while one of them -- located to the right of the image -- has a misplaced window. Image Screenshot of the AI-generated image, with some visual inconsistencies highlighted using a magnifying tool by AFP Image Screenshot of the AI-generated image, with visual items highlighted using a magnifying tool by AFP AFP Fact Check analysed the image using the Google SynthID detection tool, which identifies photos and videos generated by its AI models (archived link). The tool detected that the image was made "with Google AI" with "Very High" confidence. Image Screenshot showing the image in the interface of the SynthID detection tool AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about US politics here.