Fake news is fake news. While a lot may find it funny and entertaining to some extent, publishing and sharing it as if it’s a legitimate one can put yourself in trouble.
Facebook Page “Filipino Secret Files” published yesterday what it claimed to be an official 10,000 Philippine peso bill as “regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)”.
The viral post quoted a statement that it also claimed from the Chairman of the Monetary Board. BSP’s current chairman is Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has released the New Generation designs of Philippine banknotes including the “Sampunlibong Piso” Philippine Piso PHP (ISO 4217)”, the latest trending post said.
A photo of the bogus P10,000 bill came with the post. It does look fake even at first glance. You might wonder why it still got enough attention from netizens, right? Apparently, most netizens got amused about it even if it’s a hoax, to begin with.
The page’s trending post generated 16,000 reactions, more than 6,000 comments and close to 38,000 shares as of this writing.
Approximately twelve hours later, BSP released an advisory against the fictitious banknotes saying “The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) advises the public that the New Generation Currency (NGC) Banknote Series currently in circulation is comprised of six (6) denominations only, as follows: 1000-, 500-, 200-, 100-, 50- and 20-Piso banknotes. The BSP has not produced and issued a 10,000-Piso NGC banknote.
The forgery of Philippine banknotes, as well as the use or possession of the same, are punishable under the law.
We advise the public to report immediately to the nearest Police Station or National Bureau of Investigation the forgery, use or possession of Philippine banknotes, for appropriate filing of criminal complaint against those persons involved.
The BSP enjoins the cooperation of the public in preserving the integrity of Philippine currency through sharing of verified and truthful information.”
Upon further checking, it wasn’t even the Facebook Page “Filipino Secret Files” who first published it. A concerned netizen left a comment in the BSP advisory that traced the original post back to a female netizen who posted the same photo last June 19th. The alleged origin of the fake news was not as popular as that of “Filipino Secret Files” though.
BSP did not specifically mention if they are already investigating the matter or if they’re already tracking the people behind this fake news. But, if they are, the culprits should better come up with an equally creative but acceptable reason. Else, it’s going to be a harsh lesson for them.
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