Mel Tiangco Disputes Fake Post Claiming She Insulted Alex Eala

Veteran broadcast journalist Mel Tiangco has spoken up about the viral social media post claiming she insulted Alex Eala.

The Facebook post, made by an account named Tennis Spark, alleged that Mel spewed hurtful words against the Filipino tennis star. This included a fabricated quote from the news anchor that read, “Don’t claim it’s for this country — you’re nothing but a despicable, selfish person.” It continued by reporting that Alex “broke down in tears” over the harsh statement.

The post was shared by several tennis-related accounts, tricking outraged fans into believing the incident. Mel cleared the air on her news show by vehemently disputing the circulated story. “Naku, tahasan ko pong sasabihin na fake po ang mga posts na ‘yan,” she said. “Sabi pa nga sa pekeng posts eh sumagot pa raw si Eala gamit ang mga maanghang na salita. Uulitin ko po, fake news po ‘yan.”

Mel reiterated that she has never said anything negative about Alex and that she’s one with the country in celebrating the athlete’s success. “Ipinagbubunyi ko siya at ipinagdarasal pa,” she told viewers.

This isn’t the first time a false narrative has been created bearing Alex’s name. In recent months, similar tennis accounts on Facebook, claiming to be fan pages, have been coming out with sensationalized stories that show famous Filipino personalities putting down the tennis player.

One recent upload from Tennis Spark claims that talk-show host Boy Abunda called Alex a “disgrace” after her loss in the Australian Open. It now has over 400 comments, most of them fans and Filipinos defending Alex and condemning Abunda. The post, however, is fake, alongside many others crafting dramatic stories to capitalize on Alex’s growing fame.

Among these accounts farming for clicks are Tennis Together, Tennis Today, TopSpin Central, and Tennis Times. In a takedown piece by The Nerve and Rappler, they revealed that these pages can earn as much as P2.4 million a month by pushing out their posts as ads, which are being written using artificial intelligence

Alex isn’t the only victim of these falsehoods, either. This plague of deepfakes has been accosting tennis stars in recent years. Danish play Holger Rune asked fans to report the fake accounts before openly talking about it during the 2025 Cincinnati Open. He said, “I like jokes, I like fun, all of this, but sometimes it gets a bit too real in a way—even though it’s fake. That’s when I don’t think it’s necessary. Obviously, it’s tough to control the whole internet!”