Altered news report falsely claims victim of Duterte's drug crackdown 'still alive'
The clip also appears to show the same man -- who claimed to be her ex-boyfriend -- saying she lied that he was killed during Duterte's drug crackdown.
"You even told people that I was dead when I am just here working," he said in Visayan.
The Tagalog-language news chyron says: "Family members of drug war victims believe justice will be served".
The clip also shows text that reads, "Another victim that they claim to be dead but is still alive."
Duterte's supporters published dozens of online posts targeting the families of drug war victims, seeking to discredit their accounts of extrajudicial killings after the former president's arrest (archived link).
Sheerah Escudero, the woman in the video, said people on social media had accused her of being a liar and a drug addict, with some even sending personal messages telling her she deserved to be killed and beheaded.
Her brother Ephraim was found dead in 2017 at the height of the crackdown.
Escudero and other kin of drug war victims filed complaints with Philippine authorities on April 4, demanding an investigation into the threats.
The false video spread elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook.
Comments suggest some users believed the man in the false post was related to Escudero and was still alive.
"File charges on that person who misused your picture...you're not an addict but they made you appear one," one user said.
"They say 30,000 were victims of EJK (extrajudicial killings). And then they show a picture of someone who's still alive," another wrote.
Google keyword searches of the news chyron in the false video found it originated from a report aired by Philippine broadcaster News5 on March 15, 2025 (archived link).
It shows Escudero holding a different picture.
News5 said on its official Facebook page that the false video was edited from "a report aired on #FrontlineWeekend on March 15 about the loved ones of the victims of the drug war" (archived link).
It asked the public to be more critical of social media posts.
Subsequent keyword searches led to the same video in a Facebook post uploaded on the account of a digital creator named Jay Borge Mercado Ugay on March 17 (archived link).
A photo similar to the one in the altered video can be seen on his account (archived link).
Escudero took to social media on March 18 to dismiss the false video (archived link).
"When did you become my ex, Jay Borge Mercado Ugay?" she said. "Also, look at that face -- it looks nothing like Ephraim."
Duterte's arrest sparked a firestorm of online misinformation, many of which AFP has debunked.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
32 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Dog left to die in apartment waited on her owners. Then came help, and a tail wag
A sweet dog in Philadelphia who was abandoned by her owners when they were tossed from their apartment is healing and surrounded by caring people who just want to help. Not only had Piper been left behind, she was slowly fading away while waiting for her beloved people to come back for her. 'Piper was left to die alone,' the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said in a July 25 Facebook post. 'Imagine being so hungry that your ribs show through your fur. Imagine waiting by the door for someone who isn't coming back. That was Piper's reality reportedly for over two weeks. 'When her owner was evicted, they carefully packed every single belonging – every piece of furniture, every scrap of clothing, every dish and spoon. But they left behind one thing: Piper, their loyal pocket pittie.' With no one there to care for her or take her away, she could do nothing but wait. 'This sweet girl waited in that empty apartment. No food. No water. And slowly, her little body began to shut down,' the shelter said. 'When our officers were called to the scene in mid-June, Piper was in bad shape. Her tiny frame was skeletal – you could count every rib. She was vomiting, her eyes were infected and weeping, her ears full of painful discharge. Her legs, malformed from a lifetime of poor nutrition, could barely support her.' But there was still life in her eyes and that will to survive kicked in. 'But the most heartbreaking part? When our officers approached, Piper's tail still wagged. Even after being betrayed by the humans she trusted most, she still had hope,' the shelter said. 'Piper could have died alone in that apartment. Instead, we fought for her, and she fought too. She fought to live.' Piper is up for adoption and would thrive in a home where she's the only pet. For more information, visit the shelter's website.
Boston Globe
32 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Judge rejects request to suppress Google search information from Cohasset man who allegedly killed, dismembered wife
Walshe pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, disinterring a body, and lying to investigators in connection with the Jan. 1, 2023 slaying of his wife, On New Year's Eve 2022, the couple hosted Ana Walshe's former employer at their house, who left around 1:30 a.m., officials have said. Advertisement The guest told investigators he had dinner with the couple and they shared champagne and wine, according to an affidavit. Brian and Ana Walshe were in a good mood and everyone enjoyed themselves, the guest said. By 4:50 a.m., authorities allege, Ana Walshe, 39, was dead, and the disturbing Google searches started. They included 'how to embalm a body,' '10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,' 'how to stop a body from decomposing,' and 'how long before a body starts to smell.' They were made between 4:55 a.m. and 5:47 a.m. on New Year's Day, prosecutors said. In court papers last month, Walshe's lawyers said he and his prior counsel, Tracy Miner, had reached an agreement on Jan. 6, 2023, allowing authorities to conduct 'a limited search' of Walshe's iPhone and his son's iPad. Advertisement Walshe's consent was necessary at the time because State Police hadn't obtained a warrant for the devices. Walshe's lawyers said the agreement covered 'all communications' between Dec. 25, 2022, and Jan. 6, 2023, the date the electronics were turned over. The sole exception was for communications between Walshe and his lawyer, the filing said. According to the memo, State Police began a forensic search of the devices on the night of Jan. 6, 2023, and continued into the early hours of Jan. 7. An investigator who conducted the work alerted colleagues on the evening of Jan. 7 to the Internet searches in question, which were later referenced in an affidavit for a search warrant, records show. But before a warrant was issued, the filing said, 'police willingly and knowingly violated the agreement by exceeding the agreed-upon scope by downloading and searching the entire content of' Walshe's phone, his son's laptop, and a third laptop with a cracked screen that he turned over. Prosecutors in court papers last month had urged a denial of Walshe's supression motion, arguing that 'discovery of the internet searches and location data from the iPhone and iPad was certain as a practical matter.' Over several days, prosecutors allege, Walshe dismembered his wife's body in the basement and discarded her clothes and other evidence in a dumpster at a liquor store near his mother's home in Swampscott. He also allegedly disposed her remains in dumpsters at apartment complexes in Abington and Brockton. Police also allegedly found blood in the basement of the couple's home. Advertisement Seven days after Ana Walshe's disappearance, police searched the dumpster near the home of Brian Walshe's mother. Inside, they found a COVID vaccination card for Ana Walshe, a Hermes watch, and clothing Ana Walshe was known to wear, according to prosecutors. Forensic testing showed her DNA on items found in the dumpster, prosecutors said. While Brian Walshe failed in his bid to get the Google searches suppressed, he did succeed in getting additional evidence tossed. On Friday, Freniere granted Walshe's request to suppress evidence gleaned from separate search warrants related to a 'GPS install on a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle' with Mass. plates, as well as 'Verizon Records of Cell Phone Number 617-939-8646 insofar it authorized ... location data obtained for December 30, 2022 and December 31, 2022,' records show. Walshe is currently held without bail, and his trial is scheduled to begin in October, records show. Travis Andersen can be reached at
Politico
40 minutes ago
- Politico
Ballard raked in six figures from law firms targeted by Trump
With Daniel Lippman LAW FIRMS PAID BALLARD $600K LAST QUARTER: A pair of top law firms that struck deals with the Trump administration to avoid retribution for their diversity, equity and inclusion policies shelled out $300,000 each to Ballard Partners during the second quarter, disclosure filings show. Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett both hired Ballard in March, within days of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission firing off inquiries to nearly two dozen law firms about their diversity hiring practices. — Brian Ballard, Syl Lukis and Justin Sayfie reported engaging the White House Office and the Labor Department on behalf of the firms to provide 'advice related to employment practices,' according to disclosure filings. The law firms paid Ballard $100,000 during the first quarter, which ran through March. — Ballard's advocacy appeared to pay off the next month, when Trump announced that five top law firms— including Kirkland and Simpson — had agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work to support causes aligned with the president in exchange for dropping the EEOC probes. — Kirkland and Simpson weren't the only law firms that enlisted help from a Trump ally ahead of settlements with the White House. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom retained Miller Strategies on March 25, according to a disclosure filing. — On March 28, Skadden became the first law firm to strike a preemptive deal with Trump, setting off a flurry of additional dealmaking across Big Law. Skadden paid Miller Strategies $20,000 during the first quarter of the year and reported no lobbying activity during Q2. TGIF and welcome to PI. Send tips. Add me on Signal at caitlinoprysko.17, email me at coprysko@ and be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. BIG TECH'S AGE VERIFICATION FIGHT GETS MESSY: 'The biggest tech companies are warring over who's responsible for children's safety online, with billions of dollars in fines on the line as states rapidly pass conflicting laws requiring companies to verify users' ages,' per Bloomberg's Emily Birnbaum. — The debate has pitted platforms like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, against the owners of the world's two biggest app stores, Apple and Google. — 'As the lobbying battle over age verification heats up, influential big tech groups are splintering and new ones emerging. Meta last year left Chamber of Progress, a liberal-leaning tech group that counts Apple and Google as members. Since then, the chamber, which is led by a former Google lobbyist and brands itself as the Democratic-aligned voice for the tech industry, has grown more aggressive in its advocacy against all age verification bills.' — 'Meta tried unsuccessfully to convince another major tech trade group, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, to stop working against bills Meta supports, two people familiar with the dynamics said.' — In the meantime, Meta partnered up this spring with Spotify and Tinder owner Match Group 'to launch a coalition aimed at taking on Apple and Google, including over the issue of age verification. Meta is also helping to fund the Digital Childhood Alliance, a coalition of conservative groups leading efforts to pass app-store age verification, according to three people familiar with the funding.' FIRST IN PI — COURTOVICH SANCTIONED BY COURT: A federal court on Thursday ruled that lobbyist Jim Courtovich is in contempt of court for not providing financial information to Saudi-backed investors whom the court says he owes millions to, Daniel reports. — The judge, Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also said in the 'sanctions order' that Courtovich will be fined daily for contempt until he comes into compliance: $250 per day for two weeks and $1,000 per day after that, and potentially even more later. — Last year, Courtovich breached a settlement agreement he made to pay back the investment vehicle Woodland Drive, which had sued him over allegations of breach of contract and fraud. The court has previously ordered Courtovich to turn over financial information to the LLC as it attempts to collect its $4 million judgment against him. — 'Courtovich has repeatedly and flagrantly ignored the court's unambiguous orders and has failed to appear at numerous hearings scheduled by the court,' Nichols said in the order. 'Indeed, to date, he still has not complied with the court's February 5 order directing him to produce the documents requested by Woodland Drive.' — Courtovich declined to comment on whether he will comply with the court order and instead said he has an agreement with the Al Gosaibi family, which funds Woodland Drive, and not with Woodland Drive. But he added that Woodland Drive will get the proceeds of Courtovich's Hill house, which is for sale. — 'The company will not stop pursuing Jim Courtovich until he has paid every penny of the $4 million that he owes,' a representative for Woodland Drive said in a statement to PI. 'His excuses will not stop this from happening. The walls are closing in and he knows it.' THE INFLUENCERS ARE COMING: Strategic advisory firm Velocity Partners has teamed up with creator economy startup #paid to launch a new offering aimed at reaching stakeholders in Washington by mobilizing content creators and social media influencers around the country. — Content creators are 'incredibly effective at driving action,' Velocity co-founder Ali Rubin argued. 'We have been saying, if you could use that to convert that action, that behavior that they're driving, to a policy, regulatory or grassroots campaign, think about the impact you'd have.' — The #paid platform works by connecting brands with creators interested in sponsorship opportunities, and Velocity hopes to pair that functionality with its knowledge of Washington to put a D.C.-centered spin on digital campaigns focused on policy or regulatory objectives. — It feels like a natural next step following an election that cemented platforms like podcasts or TikTok as tools for campaigns to meet voters where they are, rather than relying on media that younger Americans are shifting away from, like live TV and newspapers. — For some clients, Rubin posited, that could entail enlisting a mom blogger who submitted a bid for the campaign and 'who may or may not have followers who care about politics' to sway public sentiment on an issue in their own voice. Or the influencer could call for their followers to contact their local congressional representative, instead of 'hiring a policy spokesperson or putting an ad in a local newspaper.' ANNALS OF ETHICS: The House Ethics Committee called on Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) today to divest his family's holdings in steel giant Cleveland-Cliffs, 'citing concerns around the appearance of wrongdoing,' per POLITICO's Hailey Fuchs. — The bipartisan panel has been probing whether Kelly's wife bought stock in Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs, which has a plant in the lawmaker's district, 'based on non-public information gleaned from Kelly's position as an elected official. Although Kelly's wife was not fully cooperative with the probe, the panel 'did not find evidence that [the lawmaker] knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information.'' — ''It is rare for the Committee to recommend divestment of stocks where there is a potential appearance of a conflict of interest,' committee members wrote in their report. 'As Representative Kelly himself noted, however, he is an 'insider' when it comes to Cleveland-Cliffs, by virtue of his position as the representative for his district.'' — 'The panel urged Kelly and his wife to divest their holdings before he takes any more official actions related to Cleveland-Cliffs,' while expressing concerns 'that Kelly's wife bought more stock during the investigation, and Kelly did not disclose the purchase in a timely manner — nor did he answer questions about it.' SPOTTED last night at a reception hosted by the Information Technology Industry Council featuring special guests from the Congressional Staff Association on AI, per a tipster: Margaret McCarthy of ITI, Alexandra Seymour and Ashley Truluck of the House Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, Patrick Ottenhoff of Visa, Parul Desai of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Alyson Sincavage of Cisco and Robert Hoffman of Broadcom. — And at a fireside chat on the White House's new artificial intelligence roadmap with OSTP Director Michael Kratsios hosted by the Consumer Technology Association, per a tipster: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Joel Miller of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Elena Hernandez, Dean Ball and Tim Kurth of OSTP, Will Burns of Rep. Jay Obernolte's (R-Calif.) office, Addie Cooke of Google, Melika Carroll of Cohere, Austin Carson of SeedAI, Andres Castrillon of Qualcomm, Ximena Gates of BuildWithin, Kevin Rambosk and India Herdman of Tesla, Kelsey Conradi of Samsung, Aya Kiy-Morrocco of AWS, Miranda Lutz of Cisco, Svetlana Matt of EchoStar, Melissa Wade and Charlotte McElroy of Aurora, John Mitchell of Workday, Pooja Patel of Siemens, Anarkalee Perera of HP, Sean Perryman of Uber, Kaya Singleton of Roku, Rebecca Steele of Toyota, Pat Thompson of Infineon, Melissa Tye of Verizon, Stefania Yanachkov of Waymo, Allison Cullin of Lyft, Jim Morgan of LG Electronics, Ashley Menzler of Dexcom, Tillie Fowler of EssilorLuxottica, Pat Pelletier of IBM and CTA's Gary Shapiro, Kinsey Fabrizio, Michael Petricone, Tiffany Moore and David Grossman. Jobs report — Kate Tyrrell is now chief of staff and senior deputy comptroller at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. She previously was senior managing director at Greystone. — Monument Advocacy has promoted Roberto Estrada Lobo to director of client acquisition and public affairs, Kaycie Goral to director of public affairs, Peyton Kelleher to senior manager of government relations and Chauncey Seeger to senior manager of government relations. — Michelle West is now a partner in the construction and project development practice at Burr & Forman in its new Washington office. She previously was counsel at Fox Rothschild LLP. — Jeff Hantson is now a managing director at FGS Global in its Washington office. He previously was deputy general counsel for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee. — Bert Kaufman is now senior counsel for autonomy and robotics at DoorDash. He most recently was a senior adviser at the Commerce Department. — Leslie Nettleford-Freeman is now associate general counsel and vice president of legal affairs and brand protection at the National Association of Realtors. She previously was associate general counsel at AARP. — Amir Nasr is now a public policy manager at Amazon. He was previously trade policy manager at the Computer & Communications Industry Association. New Joint Fundraisers Cortez Masto Senate Victory (Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, All for Our Country Leadership PAC, DSCC) Takano Victory Fund (Rep. Mark Takano, Inland Empire Strikes PAC; The) New PACs Draft Captain Mike Bouchard (Super PAC) PAC Punch (Super PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Brian Glackin & Associates LLC: Icebreaker Strategies, LLC (Obo Health Supply US) Clark Hill Public Strategies LLC: Riverside Energy Group Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Bayonne Drydock & Repair Corp. Government Solutions LLC: Custom Biometric Wearables, Inc. Kellen Company: International Food Additives Council New Century Government Affairs (F/K/A Terrence C. Wolfe): Polk County Public Schools Patterson & Meek: Cancercare Public Appeal LLC: Verp Holdings LLC Puzzle Box Government Relations: Boundary Stone Partners On Behalf Of Cauldron Molecules, Inc. The Nimitz Group LLC: Phronesis Global Training Solutions LLC, D/B/A Pgt Solutions Venable LLP: Incompas New Lobbying Terminations Capitol 6 Advisors: Apex Site Services Keller Partners & Company: Fairfield Medical Center Keller Partners & Company: Limestone University Stone Advocacy Solutions: Hualapai Tribe
