Cebu Artist Nabbed Over FB Post About COVID-19
CEBU ARTIST – Cops arrested the Cebu artist for allegedly posting fake coronavirus news on her Facebook account.
Fears about the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can take an emotional toll because it has already infected over 2 million people worldwide. That’s why lots of people now minimize watching television and checking their social media accounts because of this sad news.
Philippine is among the countries in Southeast Asia that have the highest COVID-19 cases. In a previous article, the Department of Health (DOH) considered Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz, Cebu City as an infected area.
Recently, the authorities arrested a Cebu artist for posting COVID-19 news on Facebook. Based on a report from ABS-CBN News, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said an artist and businesswoman named Maria Victoria Beltran allegedly shared ‘fake news’ on social media.
“9,000+ new cases (All from Zapatera) of COVID-19 in Cebu City in one day. We are now the epicenter in the whole Solar System,” the artist wrote.
According to the report, the artist was referring to the infected barangay in Cebu City. The barangay now has 135 coronavirus patients. Beltran released a statement before cops nabbed her on Sunday. She said her FB post was “satirical, designed to show wit instead of spreading chaos, anarchy, fear, or confusion.”
However, Mayor Labella said her post only caused “quite a panic” among the Cebuanos.
“If I recall sometime last Saturday, there was this item on her page and of course this caused alarm, quite a panic among residents because I think there was a mention of about 9,000 infected individuals but of course it’s not true…”
“There were so many who texted me, went to my office. Because of the very nature of the entry on the page, the police acted on it. I’m sure the police just did their job,” he said.
Based on the report, the Cebu artist was arrested on Sunday, April 19. She’s currently detained at the Police Regional Office 7.
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