FACT CHECK: Quote card of Mark Zuckerberg threatening DICT, House with lawsuit is fake

Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta issued such a statement; the fake quote card circulated amid child safety concerns on Meta's platforms

AT A GLANCE

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not threaten to sue the Philippines' DICT or House of Representatives, as claimed in a viral quote card.
• The quote card, which has been widely shared on social media, is attributed to a satire account and lacks any official confirmation from Zuckerberg or Meta.
• The DICT clarified that there was no House resolution inviting Zuckerberg to appear before lawmakers, and the claims stem from earlier discussions about child safety on Meta's platforms.

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Claim: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he would slap the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the House of Representatives with a lawsuit. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A quote card attributed to Zuckerberg, dated September 17, reads: “U.S. government nga nahihirapan sakin e tapos kayo pa kaya dyan sa DICT at House na akala mo naman may tira? Pag sasampalin ko kayo ng mga abogado ko e.”

(Even the US government is having a hard time with me; you people at the DICT and the House think you have a shot at me? I’ll slap you with my lawyers.)

The card adds: “Bilhin ko pa yang House at DICT na yan e (I could just buy the House and DICT).” 

The quote card has gone viral on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. The most popular Facebook reel drew 2,000 reactions, 120 comments, 310 shares, and 154,000 views as of writing.

Many commenters appeared to take the card as real, praising Zuckerberg for his remarks.

The quote card appears to stem from earlier reports that the House summoned Zuckerberg to address concerns regarding child safety on Meta’s platforms, which the DICT later retracted.

The facts: There is no record of Zuckerberg or Meta issuing this statement on their official channels, including on Meta’s Newsroom.

The quote card also bears the watermark @BalitaNikumparengJeff. Searching for this account leads to the original post, which carries a #satire hashtag in its caption.

Other versions of the viral graphic have no such label.

The card’s premise of a supposed lawsuit threat from the Meta CEO is also unsupported, as the DICT walked back its earlier claim that the House had called on Zuckerberg to appear before lawmakers. On September 21, the DICT clarified that no House resolution was issued directing or inviting Meta or Zuckerberg to appear before the House.

Meta under scrutiny: Meta has faced criticism in the Philippines over incidents of school violence this year. It drew flak for failing to promptly remove the livestream of the August 18 Zamboanga school shooting, which stayed up for about 14 minutes.

On September 16, House lawmakers flagged concerns about harmful online content following the school shootings in Tacloban City and Zamboanga City, and deferred action on the DICT’s 2027 budget. 

According to the DICT, the unresolved issues involving the Meta platform include online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials. Further harms were also being facilitated or amplified on major platforms, including online illegal gambling, cyberbullying, social media addiction, depression, and related mental health risks, according to the department.

Debunked: This is not the first fabricated Zuckerberg statement to circulate online. A fake letter he supposedly wrote for House lawmakers was first published by the satire site The Adobo Chronicles on September 18. VERA Files rated it as satire, and Rappler debunked the fake letter after several users reposted it without a satire label.

Rappler has previously debunked related false claims about Zuckerberg, Facebook restrictions, and fabricated quote cards:

• FACT CHECK: No letter from Meta’s Zuckerberg to House lawmakers on social media safety
• FACT CHECK: No nationwide Facebook ban set to take effect on September 10
• FACT CHECK: No order from Cagayan de Oro mayor Uy banning Muslims from schools
• FALSE: Grace Poe to file bill blocking Facebook in light of ABS-CBN shutdown
• FACT CHECK: Is Grace Poe pushing for a Facebook ban in PH?

– James Bones/Rappler.com

James Bones is a Research and Data volunteer at Rappler. He is a fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Manila.

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