FACT-CHECK: Adult star Johnny Sins did not issue statement about Duterte ICC case

CLAIM: Adult star Johnny Sins condemned the ICC’s arrest of Duterte and offered his legal services.

RATING: FALSE

A short video uploaded on TikTok and Facebook falsely claimed that adult film star Johnny Sins is a lawyer supporting former president Rodrigo Duterte in his case at the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The video included text that read “Ang ikalawang abogado daw ni Tatay Digong na magpapatiklop sa tatlong babaeng ICC judges na pumirma ng arrest warrant. Checkmate kana daw BBM!!! (Marcos). Sobrang galing at Hall of Famer daw kaya manginig na daw (sic) sa takot! Kayangiti (sic) ngiti lang daw dahil sobrang galing daw nito sa bakbakan sa korte!”

(Duterte’s second attorney will charm the three female ICC judges who signed his arrest warrant. Checkmate, BBM! He’s skilled and a Hall of Famer, so tremble with fear! Just keep smiling because he’s ready for the court!) 

A quote by the adult star was also flashed at the end of the video, stating that the ICC’s move against Duterte was illegal and offering the former president his legal services for free.

The original video was taken from the official TikTok account of Johnny Sins. But there are no Duterte-related posts and videos found on his profile.

PressOne.PH recently fact-checked similar satirical content regarding fake quote cards involving different personalities, fictional or otherwise, and news outlets.

This misleading content revolves around a shared narrative against the ICC and supporting Duterte to increase social media engagement and bait social media users.

Sin’s real name, Steven Wolfe, cannot be found on the official list of counsel before the ICC as Wolfe is not a lawyer by profession. 

Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman serves as Duterte’s lead defense counsel and is the only recognized member of the former president’s defense team. 

The videos have drawn hundreds of thousands of views, alongside tens of thousands of reactions, comments, and shares on Facebook and TikTok. Michael Hermoso – Bautista

PressOne.PH is a verified signatory of the Code of Principles of the International Fact -Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter. The code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network is a series of commitments organizations abide by to promote excellence in fact-checking. We believe nonpartisan and transparent fact-checking can be a powerful instrument of accountability journalism..

PressOne.PH believes that fact-checking is essential to combating misinformation and disinformation, and in informing and educating citizens and voters. Read more of PressOne.PH’s Fact-Checking Policy by clicking here.

The public is welcome to send feedback or requests for fact-checks at factcheck@pressone.ph.

If you believe PressOne.PH is violating the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), you may submit a complaint directly to the IFCN website: https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/complaints-policy