AFP reiterates that it does not post false information on Facebook

September 25, 2020

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assured the public on Friday that it does not spread fake information amid the reported shut down of Facebook accounts linked to uniformed organizations.

"The AFP does not spread fake news nor does it have fake accounts that propagate misinformation," said Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman.

"All contents being released to the public are thoroughly checked for accuracy and veracity," he added.

Arevalo said during the meeting with FB Policy Team, a Facebook official explained that "they take down accounts based on behavior and not content and  as of now FB does not have a policy with regard to restoring pages that have already been taken down."

Arevalo also reiterates that all the "official accounts of the military are up and running."

"No information yet as to which accounts have been taken down and said to be linked with AFP," he said.

Arevalo said during the meeting between AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay and Facebook Philippines, Gapay  requested to revisit the policy, especially with the shutdown of Hands Off Our Children (HOOC) FB page because its advocacy echoes that of the military.

He said Capt Alexandre Cabales, the admin of HOOC, who was named as one of the operators of the fake accounts closed by Facebook, is a member of the military.

Cabales' account, which was taken down by Facebook, was his personal one.

"As of now, we do not see any actions made by Capt. Cabales that are contrary to the existing AFP policy, but it does not prevent the AFP from looking into it especially given the report," he said.

"The socmed (social media) accounts of the AFP is a tool for strategic communication to advance the interest of the AFP and the government. If individual soldiers take part in this, no one should prevent them," Arevalo noted.

"The only restriction should be that they are doing it within the confines of the AFP policy on the use of social media. So if they are posting fake (news), the AFP does not support it," he added.

Arevalo said soldiers who violate the military's guidelines on the use of social media shall answer to the AFP's strict polices. Robina Asido/DMS