Key Highlights :
On May 26, 2019, the official Facebook page of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology (PCIEET) was temporarily replaced by a page that had a blue check mark next to its profile picture. This caused social media users to believe that the page was a parody of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). However, the page's actual profile picture is of a man holding a baby.
PCIEET is a government-owned corporation that was created in 2009 to promote the growth of the Philippine economy. The DOST is one of its main partners, and the two organizations have collaborated on a number of projects. For example, PCIEET is responsible for the development of the Philippine e-Commerce Industry Code of Conduct, which was developed in partnership with the DOST.
The page was temporarily replaced by a parody account that used the same profile picture and name. The account was created on May 25 and had only 10 followers at the time of its removal. The account's profile picture was a screenshot of the PCIEET page with the blue check mark next to the profile picture replaced with a red X. The account's name was also changed to "DOST Parody."
The DOST was not the only organization to be spoofed by the parody account. The account also spoofed the Facebook pages of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DOST Parody account has since been deleted, but the other pages remain active.
The DOST was not the only organization to be spoofed by the parody account. The account also spoofed the Facebook pages of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).