Facebook Drops Fact Checker Rappler!

June 20, 2020 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Almost a week after Maria Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel, Facebook announced that it was dropping Rappler as one of the designated fact checkers for the social media giant in the Philippines. (The other FB fact checker is Vera Files.)

In a FB Messenger chat with The Adobo Chronicles, Mark Zuckerberg said that he could no longer justify Ressa and her online outfit being a designated fact checker when she herself has been found guilty of manufacturing facts. “It makes no sense,” Zuckerberg said.

But not all is lost for Rappler. Ressa revealed that she just signed a new contract with a Russian firm for Rappler to be a face checker for the online app, FaceApp.

FaceApp has gained notoriety in the last few weeks because of its new online tool which netizens can use to find out how they would look like as the opposite gender.

Rappler’s task is to make sure that netizens are uploading their own authentic photos to FaceApp, and not photos of other people.

FACT CHECK: Rappler Says FaceApp Is Fake

June 19, 2020 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Leave it to Facebook Fact Checker Rappler to declare that the viral FaceApp that transforms men into women and vice versa is fake, a hoax.

The FaceApp has caught the attention of Filipino netizens, including top celebrities who are curious to see what they would look like if they had been of the opposite gender.

To prove its verdict, Rappler staff used the app to find out how their CEO Maria Ressa would look like if she had been male. To their surprise, the app didn’t work! They found no difference between Ressa the female and Ressa the male.

Maria Ressa Faces A New Charge

June 18, 2020 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – One down, two to go. Or is it three?

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel in one of three cases she faces in court. The two other still-to-be-resolved cases are those for constitutional violation of the 100% rule on media ownership, and tax evasion.

But wait. Another case is soon to be filed against Ressa, this time for violation of quarantine regulations prohibiting mass gatherings.

Metro Manila is under General Community Quarantine (GCQ). By holding a press conference following her conviction last Monday, she violated GCQ rules on mass gatherings and maintaining social distancing as evidenced by photos from said presscon.

2020 is really turning out to be a bad year for the self-proclaimed journalist and crusader for press freedom.

But help is hopefully on the way. Rappler has set up crowd funding to help its CEO pay for her legal defense before a judicial system she has labeled a “failure.”