A web domain with presidential candidate and labor leader Leody De Guzman’s name is leading visitors to the official website of a rival candidate.
Some Filipinos noticed this when typing the URL KaLeody.com. They were instead directed to the website of De Guzman’s rival, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
They shared video recordings and screenshots of it on social media.
A cursory check of Interaksyon also confirmed this URL redirection.
The URL of De Guzman’s official website is “KaLeody.org.”
A minor change in domain from .org to .com, on the other hand, will show the “M” logo on the side of the search bar.
The URL then leads visitors to Marcos’ website with URL, “www.bongbongmarcos.com.”
Some brands, organizations, and entities purchase similarly written domains and then redirect them to their main websites in case visitors mistype their URLs.
In this case, however, the names of both presidential candidates are far different for them to be misspelled in the search bar.
According to Who.Is, a platform for searching domain names, servers and other related details, the “KaLeody.com” was only registered on Feb. 23, 2022.
It was registered through a US-based internet company named Tucows, Inc.
It will expire on Feb.23, 2023.
The name of the servers and their respective IP addresses are:
- 1-you.njalla.no: 193.124.2
- 2-can.njalla.in: 193.124.34
- 3-get.njalla.fo: 215.19.5
To compare, Marcos’ official page has a different registration profile.
The site was registered via GoDaddy.com, LLC on June 18, 1999.
It was updated on April 2, 2021. Its expiration date is on June 18, 2023.
The name of the servers and their respective IP addresses are:
- NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM: 172.64.32.116
- NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM: 172.64.33.129
Supporters and other concerned Filipinos denounced the misuse of De Guzman’s name. They called it a “shameful and cheap act.
“KaLeody.com goes to BongBongMarcos.com. Ang g*g* lang talaga IF team niya gumawa nito. Pati ba naman pangalan ng iba aangkinin,” a Facebook user said.
“Go see it yourself. They did Ka Leody so low,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Bastos!” a Facebook user said.
As of writing, neither the camp of Marcos nor De Guzman has issued any statement about the matter.