Charles Teves
Atom Araullo, a popular GMA News presenter, was sorry to see people circulating false information about him.
In a Facebook post, Araullo had to explain that his name “Atom” is a combination of his first two names Alfonso and Tomas. His response came after people claimed that his name came from the August Twenty One Movement or ATOM, the day former senator Ninoy Aquino was killed.
Araullo explained, “Utang na loob, itigil niyo na yung teoryang ipinangalan ako sa August Twenty One Movement o ATOM. Pinaslang po si Ninoy noong August 21, 1983. Ipinanganak ako noong 1982 (huhu ayan age reveal tuloy). Ang Atom po ay kumbinasyon ng Alfonso at Tomas, na pangalan ng dalawa kong Lolong astig.”
Araullo has done documentaries on the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and is considered a dissenter by Marcos supporters.
He shared that last week trolls alleged that his mother Carol is a member of the New People’s Army.
The news anchor reiterates how widespread deception has become. He commented, “Never thought I’d need to explain this, but here we are. #Disinformation is real. Learning poverty is real. Anyway, sana masarap ang mga ulam ninyo ngayon.”
At the prestigious Cannes Corporate Media and TV Awards, the GMA Public Affairs program won for the Philippines the Silver Award for Documentaries and Reports (TV, Online, and Cinema) in the Human Concerns and Social Issues category.
‘The Atom Araullo Specials: Munting Bisig’ recently won three international awards for shedding light on the plight of children from underprivileged backgrounds. In April, the same documentary won the Gold World Medal at the 2022 New York Festivals TV & Film Award.
Araullo proudly expresses how deeply honored he is for these awards. He gives credit for this success to the true team effort (dedicated journalists, media workers, and contributors) who worked hard on this documentary.
