FACT-CHECK: PH Navy did not fire at China’s vessels near shoal

CLAIM: Philippine Navy fired warning shots at Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal

RATING: FALSE

An erroneous video claiming that the Philippine Navy had fired warning shots at China’s vessels in Scarborough Shoal was again reposted by a YouTube content creator. 

The video, bearing the fake headline “BARKO NG CHINA NAGIMBAL! China Coast Guard KUMARIPAS NG PAPUTUKAN ng PH NAVY sa Scarborough,” was uploaded by “WANGBUDISS TV” on Jan. 24, 2024.

 In the 15-minute video, the content creator reacted to a 9-minute video earlier uploaded by the now-closed YouTube account “Terong Explained.” 

The deleted Terong Explained video also claimed that the Philippine Navy had tried to approach the Chinese in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal to arrest them, after firing warning shots.

However, there were no reports on such occurrences  involving the Philippine Navy.  

 In July 2023, VERA Files Fact Check flagged Terong Explained due to video  containing military disinformation. 

The erroneous video was first uploaded in August 2023 and was reposted on pages across different platforms. 

The WANGBUDISS TV reaction video has gathered 33,663 views with 116 comments. The channel has 156,000 subscribers. Rushelle Intia

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Rushelle Intia is a Journalism student from the University of Santo Tomas and an intern for PressOnePH. This piece was created under the supervision of PressOnePH’s editors.