Claim: A quote card shows a statement from former Liberty City senator and incoming S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nicholas Fury expressing his support for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post, uploaded on November 16 by a page with 19,000 followers, has 812 reactions, 123 comments, and 499 shares as of writing.
The quote card reads: “Philippine congressmen should be ashamed of themselves. Mr. Duterte has done so many [sic] for his country. To be prosecuted by your own people for fighting the criminality is Avengers-level threat. For my opinion, Mr. Duterte is the bestest [sic] president in the solar system alongside with President-elect Trump.”
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The bottom line: Nicholas “Nick” Fury is a fictional character from Marvel Comics who leads the covert intelligence organization S.H.I.E.L.D., a fictional group in the same franchise.
The image attached to the quote card shows American actor Samuel L. Jackson, who played Fury in the Marvel movie series. No reports indicate that Jackson ever gave a statement related to Duterte.
Comments and reactions on the post suggest that some social media users believe the quote to be real, with some expressing appreciation for the alleged statement of support for Duterte.
Not a senator: Liberty City is a neighborhood in Miami-Dade County, Florida. There are no records in the Florida Senate archives that a Nicholas Fury ever represented the county or the state as a senator.
War on drugs: The post and the quote card were uploaded amid the House quad committee hearings on the drug war killings under the Duterte administration, and the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the human rights abuses during the bloody war on drugs campaign.
The former president has also appeared before the Senate and made unapologetic admissions about his role in the drug war-related deaths. (READ: Duterte’s admissions during Senate drug war hearing and what they mean)
Rappler has already published several fact-checks disputing dubious quote cards related to political figures in the Philippines:
- FACT CHECK: Sara Duterte quote card defending John Amores is fake
- FACT CHECK: Sara Duterte quote card on OVP’s P125-M confidential funds is fake
- FALSE: Queen Elizabeth II impressed by Duterte’s good governance
– Kyle Marcelino/Rappler.com
Kyle Marcelino is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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