Today, April 2, 2026, is not just Maundy Thursday of the Holy Week, but also International Fact-Checking Day, a day when everyone is encouraged to verify the accuracy of the news they have seen, and report any misleading information, especially on the World Wide Web and on social media. The DRPS PHCA created DRPS PHCA Check (formerly Fake News Alerts) to combat misleading information, not only on Philippine Television and Radio, but also in any form of information.
For today, the DRPS PHCA Check reminds the public to be wary of the following false and misleading information related to the COVID-19 Pandemic and a claim regarding a New AI Wealth Initiative.
The DOH said an Emergency lockdown due to the COVID-19 Cicada Variant to declare on April 10, 2026? False.
A social media post from PHNews claimed that the Department of Health would declare an emergency lockdown caused by the COVID-19 Cicada Variant (Lineage BA.3.2) on April 10, 2026. Additionally, the post includes two links claiming to be a news article from GMA News or a complete list of areas where the emergency lockdown will take effect.
Our verdict: False and Clickbait. There is no such news from the Department of Health regarding an emergency lockdown caused by the COVID-19 Cicada Variant. Also, there are no recorded cases of this variant of the virus in the Philippines, because it has not yet been detected to date.
Additionally, clicking on the links in the post will direct you to a product page on Shopee and Lazada (affiliate links to these online shopping marketplaces) instead of a comprehensive list of areas affected by the lockdown, or a news article from GMA News. Only trust news from official social media pages and websites of government agencies and news outlets.
A Facebook ad claiming that you can earn PHP 90,000 monthly with this AI capital product? False.
A Facebook ad from About People and a website claimed that, upon clicking the button on the ad, you can massively earn more money through a so-called AI Wealth Initiative from the Philippine President Bongbong Marcos, according to a “news article” from “INQURER dot Net”. It also claimed that he, along with the National Economic Council, has officially launched Nexus Capital AI, as stated on the website, which describes it as a “state-supported program designed to protect Filipino families from inflation and build real wealth”.
Our verdict: False and Deepfake. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have warned the public to avoid all AI-generated videos that mimic the voice and appearance of PBBM, as seen in financial scam-related ads on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The Philippine Daily Inquirer did not create this type of news related to the AI capital product.
The website involved in the ad, songsofearmoon[.]buzz, is not a government website; it copied the design of the INQUIRER dot Net website (owned by the Philippine Daily Inquirer) and uses artificially-generated images of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Presidential seal, the President itself, and the logos of GCash and Maya, involving the financial scam.
The comments section on the scam webpage of the site does not function when clicking any of the interactive buttons, including the names of those who have commented on it. Most of the profile images are based on our reverse image search and are stolen from someone else’s social media accounts.
Additionally, based on the WHOIS lookup of the domain name, the website was registered on March 24, 2026, via Namecheap. Browsing the domain name itself (simply the domain name) will direct you to an online shopping marketplace for computer gaming furniture, with currencies based in Indian Rupees (INR).
If you have browsed the website or seen their ad on Facebook and Instagram, including those related to it, do not fill in your name, email, and phone number out the form provided on the website, as it may steal your personal information from these scammers.
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© 2026 DRPS Philippine Commercial Archives (DRPS PHCA). All Rights Reserved. PHCA CID: PHCA-2026H1-5005/April 2, 2026.
