As the May elections approach, the Philippines is facing yet another surge of disinformation. This growth can be linked to the region’s recent political activities, such as the ICC’s arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in March, which created an exaggerated wave of narratives on social media concerning the Philippines being a victim to sociopolitical conditioning.
Disinformation Surged After Duterte’s Arrest
Duterte’s arrest created a chain of disinformation overload that continues to drown the country and, according to analysts, will only worsen as the elections get closer. Head of digital verifications at Vera Files, Celine Samson, explained how this spike was related to many people being politically untruthful. According to her, “it’s the same false narrative appearing on different platforms like TikTok and Facebook, so it feels like there’s a concerted effort to spread them.” Her analysis comes from the misinformation campaigns on social media from other countries using the Philippines as a target and assumes that will only become highly commercialized in the days following the elections.
Duterte’s Alleged Crimes and the Disinformation War
The arrest of Duterte on March 11 came after an ICC warrant was issued claiming he committed multiple crimes against humanity during his presidency period considering the “war on drugs” he initiated. This arrest set off a wave of misinformation seeking to protect and undermine the ICC case on Duterte. Pro-Duterte social media accounts have been blamed for orchestrating this disinformation campaign, although Duterte himself has not commented on the claims. Cyabra, a tech company that investigated the outbreak of bogus accounts, noted that it was indeed an “intentional structured campaign,” although they do not know where it started from.
Government Efforts to Counter Disinformation
Fake news is admittedly a major problem for the Philippine government, encompassing not just the arrest of Duterte, but also his negotiations with Beijing regarding the South China Sea and other election-related fabrications. On April 8, a hearing in the House of Representatives sought to discuss the impact of and the role social media, and their algorithms, play in the dissemination of misinformation. During his opening remarks, politician Johnny Pimentel, who was the chairperson of this hearing, referred to something that struck the essence of the issue: the impact of disinformation. He was later quoted saying, “Disinformation campaigns and the proliferation of fake news not only mislead citizens but erode the confidence of the people in our institutions… especially at this time when fake news among candidates proliferates.”
Response and Responsibility from Big Tech
Also present in the hearing was Rafael Frankel, Meta’s public policy head for Southeast Asia, who was there to explain Meta’s attempts to curb content moderation on Facebook — used as a primary news outlet for more than half the population of the Philippines. Frankel maintained that controlling disinformation among Facebook’s 3.2 billion users is “practically impossible.” Meta says that it employs independent verification partners like Vera Files, who claim to check, review, and rate viral misinformation on our platforms in over 60 languages and amongst many other fact-checking units through their publicly funded international fact-checking network.
Fact Checkers Baffled by Bountiful Online Misinformation
The amount of fake posts being shared has left fact-checkers highly inundated. Samson of the Vera Files noted that his workload exceeded much more than the usual daily expectations, remarking that it was “abnormally busy,” with over 300 reports of misinformation being sent to him over a span of just two weeks after Duterte’s arrest. There is a consensus that the social media ecosystem is filled with fake posts and deceitful information that spreads faster than any attempts made to take action against them. Many experts have also voiced their concerns after Meta made the decision to shut down its fact-checking systems in Facebook and Instagram for the US and switch to user-provided context.
The Difficulties of Fighting Inauthentically Coordinated Behavior
In an addressing gap where Malon Nombrado sheds light on the local public initiative dedicated to the literacy of media, the controversy of immitigable “coordinated inauthentic behavior” stems. Despite being under the banner of Big Tech, Nombrado thinks it’s nearly impossible to combat this sort of inauthentic behavior. I can cite numerous explanations but for now let me leave it at this: “In every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” And explain in the comment that despite the changes monopolistic social media companies have taken nowadays, the good old methods of spreading disinformation are still undetectable. It is arguable from his claim that he does not regard fact-checking as a valid means to change people’s minds.
The Toll and the Hope
The disinformation campaign’s multifaceted attention could ensure success, but it has a cumulative and detrimental effect on people. Samson concedes, commenting that “cleaning Philippine politics or winning ‘voters’ hearts and minds’ does require constant myth-busting, and that can be wearing,” while also stating she is appreciative of the fact that her efforts are vital in preserving information integrity. “People don’t care about facts,” concedes Samson, “but I would never lose hope in what fact-checking can do in [preserving] information integrity online.”
