HOAX: Jessy Mendiola ‘dead’ after car crash

Rappler.com
HOAX: Jessy Mendiola ‘dead’ after car crash
The actress was indeed involved in a road accident in May 2018, but she is alive and well now

Claim: Actress Jessy Mendiola reportedly died in a car crash recently.

The posts published on domains like trendingnewstv.online, trendingnewsportal.info, and 2k18posttrends.info contain an embedded video, but with no additional details. The said pages also have multiple online ads.

In addition, the posts do not have timestamps. Facebook’s Claim Check dashboard said it was published on Facebook as early as July 24, and is still being shared at least 1,300 times as of this posting.

Rating: FALSE

The facts: Jessy Mendiola is still alive.

Posts on her Instagram account confirm that she is alive and well. She can be seen posing for the camera in at least 6 Instagram photos and responding to comments in her posts since July 24.

Mendiola indeed figured in a road accident on May 16, 2018, after a taping of one of her TV shows. The actress recounted that her driver fell asleep and lost control of the van he was driving, hitting a barrier.

“I’m very thankful nothing happened to me and no other vehicles went against us,” Jessy said. She added that she did not get mad at her driver after the incident.

The embedded video was from the “Hot Issue!” YouTube account uploaded on May 16, 2018. While it used a video thumbnail with the logo of ABS-CBN when it is not from a news report from the said network, the video accurately reported about the car crash.

However, the death hoax post’s headline exaggerated the incident.

This death hoax is similar to what Rappler has checked before, like in the cases of actor John Lloyd Cruz, singer Gary Valenciano, and actress Kris Aquino’s son Josh Aquino.

These websites do not have a homepage, and possibly compromise the users’ online accounts when it asks them to share the post to watch the rest of the video.

In some cases, some of these websites change content over time. One link from the dubious domain even redirects to a Josh Aquino death hoax article.

We warn readers against opening and/or sharing these hoax articles. Sensitive topics like deaths – especially of public personalities – should be supported by valid news reports, which verify such information through official sources like family members or the police. – Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

If you suspect a Facebook page, group, account, a website, or an article is spreading false information, let Rappler know by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/208718-hoax-jessy-mendiola-dead-after-car-crash/
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