FACT CHECK: PAL debunks viral Thai article misidentifying active pilot as homeless

PAL's spokesperson debunked the claim, saying that Larry Malpaya, who was misidentified in the posts, remains an active pilot. Thai PBS World has since retracted its story. Claim: Former Philippine Airlines (PAL) and AirAsia pilot Larry Malpaya was found homeless on the streets of Bangkok after losing his life savings through unsuccessful stock market investments. Rating: FALSE Why we fact-checked this: Posts bearing the claim have been circulating online. The more popular posts that garnered up to 20,000 reactions have since been deleted or corrected, but several Facebook and blog posts remain active. One such post was published by a Facebook page called KUYA BRUCE TV, which has 48,000 followers. “Former Philippine Airlines and AirAsia pilot Larry Malpaya is currently hospitalized in Bangkok after being rescued from the streets by the Mirror Foundation,” the post’s caption says. “The 58-year-old Filipino national was discovered by a Thai Facebook user under the staircase of the BTS Phloen Chit Station, suffering from infected wounds and severe health issues tied to diabetes.” Similar posts cite “reports” saying the alleged pilot lost his life savings through unsuccessful stock market investments. This apparently led to him divorcing his Thai wife and eventually becoming homeless after living in Thailand for more than 20 years. Most of the posts cite Thai PBS World and the Mirror Foundation as their sources. The facts: Cielo Villaluna, PAL’s spokeperson, debunked the claim in a July 31 Facebook post. “Capt. Larry Malpaya is an active Philippine Airlines pilot and is not the individual referred to or depicted in the article,” she wrote in the post. She later pointed out in a comment that Malpaya had reacted to her post, reiterating that he is not the person shown in the viral posts. AirAsia also said its records show no such employment under that name, as cited in a July 31 report by the Manila Bulletin. Thai PBS retracted the story on the same day, saying in a statement: “After checking with the Mirror Foundation, there was confirmation of this rescue case but it has not been able to identify if this individual was a Filipino.” The Mirror Foundation is the charity organization that rescued the homeless man wrongly identified as Malpaya. In their July 31 post, they claimed that they were not the ones to provide the information regarding his occupation and nationality. The foundation said the information came from a news agency, which cited a Facebook post by a citizen who said they had spoken with the unidentified man. AI-generated: Some versions of the false posts also include a photo of the unidentified man sitting with his back against the wall, which AI detection tool Sight Engine found to be 99% likely to be AI-generated. The photo in these posts does not match any of those previously posted by Thai PBS World or the Mirror Foundation, either. Debunked: Rappler has debunked other false claims related to other countries: FACT CHECK: Claire Castro not banned from Canada FACT CHECK: Nepal protest, Trillion Peso March misrepresented as recent rallies in PH FACT CHECK: Duterte will not be sent to Japan after Marcoleta-Fujiki meeting FACT CHECK: PH vessels pass through Strait of Hormuz, contrary to claim FACT CHECK: No reports of Kim Jong Un saying North Korea will join Middle East conflict – Shay Du/Rappler.com Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to the #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time. How does this make you feel? Loading