FACT-CHECK: Satirical post showing NBA players supporting Sara Duterte’s presidential bid gains traction

CLAIM: NBA players expressed support for Sara Duterte’s 2028 presidential bid

RATING: SATIRE

A satirical Facebook post falsely claiming that NBA players have thrown their support behind Sara Duterte’s 2028 presidential bid has generated significant online engagement, with some in the comments applauding the athletes for their supposed stance.

Flagged content: Verified Facebook page Box Score PH posted a graphic with the text “NBA players show support to Sara Duterte,” following the vice president’s announcement that she would run for president in 2028.

The graphic has a collage of basketball superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Quinn Cook, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Stephen Curry with their fists pointed toward the camera to show off their championship rings.
At the very center is a screengrab from when Duterte announced her plans to run for president.
The athletes’ poses are similar to the fist-bump gesture, which is synonymous with the Duterte brand.

Our debunk: To say that the NBA players in the photos raised their fists to show support for Duterte is not only false–it’s also hilarious.

The images of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Quinn Cook were taken on Dec. 22, 2020, when the three received their 2020 NBA championship rings ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s photo showcasing his first NBA championship ring was taken on Oct. 19, 2021, before his team, the Milwaukee Bucks, went against the Brooklyn Nets.
Stephen Curry’s photo was taken from an Oct. 16, 2018 Instagram post of the NBA showing the athlete flexing his third NBA championship ring.
No athlete featured in the graphic, nor anyone on the entire NBA roster, has released any statement supporting the Duterte family or commenting on Philippine political developments.

Rewind: Duterte, on Feb. 18, announced her plans to run for president, two years ahead of the 2028 election.

She made her announcement while four impeachment complaints were pending against her.
The announcement also came ahead of her father’s confirmation of charges for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court on Feb. 23.

Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the post has been shared over 5,200 times and has drawn over 109,000 reactions and 7,700 comments.

Box Score PH, the page that posted the graphic, has over 156,000 followers and is a verified account.
The post was not explicitly labeled as satire and has misled people in the comments into believing the claim.
As of writing, other accounts on other social media platforms have reused the graphic, seemingly without the same satirical intent.

Spot the fake: Not all verified accounts or pages are reputable sources of news and information.

Always check the source of images posted online, as some may have been taken out of context.
Be wary of posts aimed at eliciting user reactions, as this practice is commonly used by accounts to monetize content. Rafaela Baluyut

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