An annoying subset of disinformation mimics real-time news “updates” on an active story — claiming arrests, releases, case dismissals, or even deaths that haven’t happened. We have noticed this on at least a tenth of our fact-checks over the past year, including the events surrounding the arrest of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court. PressOne.PH calls it “news-cycle disinformation.”
Why it matters: News-cycle disinformation exploits peak audience attention. When audiences glued to the news demand more updates, disinformation peddlers drop fake “developments” that feel plausible.
- These types of content hijack editorial cues by mimicking breaking news announcements, TV news-style chyrons, and online push alerts. Their objective is to overwork fact-checkers and outpace verification, which takes time.
- Another objective is to try to shift perception in real time, perhaps even plant false memories about how a certain news story “unfolded.”
Our definition: News-cycle disinformation involves fabricated claims that latch on to an unfolding news event, presenting themselves as breaking updates within the same cycle (or immediately after), and offering premature or implausible outcomes.
Tell-tale signs: PressOne.PH has listed down the characteristics of news-cycle disinformation. Such false stories, tailor-made for social media stories or reel formats, try to ride the news cycle of a major development and announce what amounts to a false endpoint or closure.
- They are event-anchored and reference an ongoing proceeding (e.g., court action, police operation, disaster).
- Temporal proximity is another strategy. Such stories appear during or just outside the window of a genuine news cycle.
- They peddle a false endpoint or closure. Examples are a new arrest, release from detention, dismissal of a case, or even death.
- These stories also borrow the tone or visuals of news updates or bulletins.
- They are platform-ready and thrive in short, sensational, video-first formats such as those on TikTok or Facebook.
Zoom in: Case in point, the ICC’s arrest of Duterte in March 2025. Premature or implausible outcomes were peddled to audiences across news cycles: “no warrant,” “case junked,” “victory secured,” posted by fakers while proceedings were still underway.
- Why did this happen? Our theory is that lulls in the ICC process, combined with high political stakes, create an intense social media demand for updates.
Feb 26, 2024 — “No ICC arrest warrant issued against Duterte”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-no-icc-arrest-warrant-issued-against-duterte
Nov 8, 2024 — “ICC did not junk drug war case against Duterte”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-icc-did-not-junk-drug-war-case-against-duterte
Mar 29, 2025 — “ICC has not junked cases against Duterte”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-icc-has-not-junked-cases-against-duterte
Apr 25, 2025 — “Duterte yet to secure victory in ICC case”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-duterte-yet-to-secure-victory-in-icc-case
Zoom in 2: Another case in point, the Sept. 8, 2024 arrest of pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a Duterte ally. In the days following the religious leader’s arrest, we saw a burst of false and event contradictory claims of death, arrest supposedly done earlier than the actual event, surrender, sentencing, plus a fake “arrest video.”
Sept. 12, 2024 — “Embattled ‘Son of God’ Apollo Quiboloy did not die”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-embattled-son-of-god-apollo-quiboloy-did-not-die
Sept. 17, 2024 — “Pastor Apollo Quiboloy was arrested Sept. 8” (false claim of earlier arrest)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-pastor-apollo-quiboloy-was-arrested
Sept. 17, 2024 — “Pastor Apollo Quiboloy did not surrender” (counter-narrative disinfo)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-pastor-apollo-quiboloy-did-not-surrender
Sept. 18, 2024 — “No sentence yet for controversial Pastor Apollo Quiboloy”
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-no-sentence-yet-for-controversial-pastor-apollo-quiboloy
Sept. 19, 2024 — “Supposed video of Quiboloy’s arrest” (fabricated arrest video)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-supposed-video-of-quiboloys-arrest
Zoom in 3: Death hoaxes are perhaps the most common type of news-cycle disinformation Pressone.PH has observed. It targets individuals who are at the center of ongoing news coverage. These disinformation campaigns often surface while public attention is at its peak, repeating the pattern of exploiting heightened demand for updates and preying on audiences’ shock value.
July 20, 2024 — “TikTok user falsely claims Harry Roque has died” (posted as House inquiry tags Roque into Philippine offshore gaming operations)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-tiktok-user-falsely-claims-harry-roque-has-died/
Nov. 18, 2024 — “Critics of former president Duterte not dead” (surfaced following Duterte’s attendance at a House committee hearing on his administration’s deadly war on drugs)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-critics-of-former-president-duterte-not-dead/
Dec. 2, 2024 — “Bato dela Rosa is alive” (claim made days after Kerwin Espinosa told a House hearing that dela Rosa forced him to testify against former senator Leila de Lima in 2016)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-bato-dela-rosa-is-alive/
Oct. 3, 2024 — “Online health advocate Doc Willie is still alive” (false claim posted after Ong announced file his certificate of candidacy for senator in the 2025 midterm elections)
https://pressone.ph/fact-check-online-health-advocate-doc-willie-is-still-alive/
Novelty bias: These stories seem to work as social media algorithms reward fresh posts, and audiences tend to reward speed. Disinformation peddlers rely on tried-and-tested news-type template factories, using counterfeit logos, labels such as “BREAKING,” stock news footage, images, or screenshots, and AI voiceovers. Spot the fake: Verification is paramount to avoid falling for these falsehoods. Anyone can fact-check the underlying information being used by these false stories as “sources.”
- Arrests, deaths, warrants, and court orders should always be sourced officially, from authorized officials or official documents and press releases.
- Check timestamps, time zones, and whether such endpoints or outcomes are even procedurally possible within a given timeframe.
- Identify the earliest post on social media and examine the account’s bio, posting history, and record of peddling prior falsehoods.
- When a video claims to have been taken “live,” frames such as buildings and signs can be reverse image-searched.
Bottom line: News-cycle disinformation peddles false closure in real time, utilizing social media users’ bias for urgency and the institutional silence required by slow judicial processes. Such sensational claims of an endpoint or closure should be treated as high-risk and unconfirmed, and subjected to stringent scrutiny and verification. Felipe F. Salvosa II and Nikko A. Balbedina III
This report was made possible by an Internews project to build the capacity of news organizations in understanding disinformation and influence operations in the Philippines.
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