In the Era of Propaganda and “Fake News”
by Lewis Wong, Jr. | 22 October 2017
The main agenda of then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte on his campaign was the fight against drugs and criminality. This has gained massive support from a society that was frustrated with the status quo, who deemed then-president Benigno Aquino III as an inefficient leader who was “out-of-touch” with the plight of the marginalized. Despite being labelled a “rising tiger of Asia” by economists, many people did not feel this. People were hungry for immediate, tangible change and this was what they saw in the former Davao mayor. With high crime rates and massive corruption, people wanted someone who would drastically change all of this, and they saw that in Duterte, especially with what he did with Davao City. A lot of his accomplishments from his many years of ruling the city have been used as “proof” of his capacity as a leader – that whatever he did in Davao, he can replicate for the entire country. Other than his achievements, his charismatic personality also helped immensely in his campaign. People saw him as a figure that would break the traditional mold of a Philippine president – first of all, he was from Mindanao. They hoped that his place of origin would serve to break the “Manila-centric” hegemony that ruled the country for decades. He was also seen as an “anti-elitist” figure who would hopefully hurt the so-called “oligarchs” who thrived during the Aquino administration. He was also seen as a straight-talking, “down-to-earth”person who knew how to connect with the masses. All these factors, together with the power of social media, are what catapulted former Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to the highest position in the land.
More than a year into his presidency and he has failed to deliver some of his key campaign promises and has committed numerous blunders – but people are still extremely supportive of him. In fact, support for him has intensified even more, as seen on social media and in recent surveys. Facebook pages such as Mocha Uson Blog and Thinking Pinoy keep on promoting the good works of the new president while at the same time spewing vitriolic messages towards opposition figures who tried to malign the president in any way – sometimes already relying on conspiracy theories and fake news. These pages claim to be the “alternative media” which serve to discredit what they call as “biased mainstream media” which, according to them, try to “destabilize” the current administration while at the same time favoring the opposition. What is frustrating about this, however, is that the ones who are running these pages are appointed government officials who are bound by a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards (RA 6713). For instance, Mocha Uson was appointed as a PCOO undersecretary, while RJ Nieto of Thinking Pinoy was appointed as a consultant for the DFA. As a reaction to the growing number of pro-Duterte pages, pro-opposition pages have started to sprout up through blogs such as Pinoy Ako Blog and Silent No More PH. These blogs aim to oppose this administration and debunk fake news peddled by pro-administration pages that seek to damage the opposition’s reputation. This has created a schism in the discourse of political issues – the “DDS” or the “Duterte Diehard Supporters” and the “Dilawan” or the pro-Liberal Party/pro-opposition. Instead of tackling issues, people from both sides would resort to ad hominem attacks, reducing each other to labels. The narrative has shifted from “we want to make this country better” to “we are better than you” and because of this, social media has become a toxic place for political discourse.
This bitter word war on social media between people who are for and against this admin has reached the government level. Even the DOJ secretary and the president himself have used the word “yellows” to identify the admin critics (even if not all critics are supporters of the Liberal Party), and that whatever bad press they were receiving, it was always the fault of the Liberal Party. Other than that, at times, the DOJ has also relied on fake news in accusing opposition figures of doing illegal acts or conspiring to oust the president. In a recent hearing, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre deemed critics, who he labels as “Yellowtards” as enemies of the state – equating them to terrorist groups such as ISIS, the CPP-NPA, and the drug cartels. This is very much reminiscent of the Marcos dictatorship wherein critics are heavily punished by the state. This doesn’t seem to bother his supporters - in fact, a lot of them even approve of this, since their primary goal is to remove all forms of opposing voices. This just goes to show how dangerously powerful misinformation in social media is because it transcends from cyberspace to reality and as a result, it personally affects the lives of everyone involved.
Are we trying to say then that the concerns and frustrations of Duterte supporters towards the opposition make no sense? Definitely not. Their immense support for the current president is brought about by an administration that neglected their needs. Corruption, high crime rates, and ineptitude that thrived during the Aquino administration are completely valid reasons for their frustrations; however, thanks to these hate-filled pages and the proliferation of fake news, their anger may have already blown out of proportion. It is bothersome to notice that these avid supporters of Duterte who previously criticized PNoy are suddenly defensive and unwilling to listen to facts every time the current president commits the same blunders as the previous administration. This defensiveness is a direct contradiction to Duterte’s campaign slogan “Change Is Coming” because “change” would mean that the errors of the previous administration will not be repeated by the current one. If we want real change, we need to reawaken their senses and understand that what we are fighting for is not a specific political figure, but for a system that is right and just and fair for all. All forms of corruption, be it from the administration or opposition, should be called out and be dealt with by the law. In times like these, arguing on who is better does not help. It is high time for campaigns on information literacy especially in the dark era of fake news. We have to be very wary of what we read or post online - and this applies to all articles - be it for or against the administration. We have to check our personal biases and be critical of the sources where these publications get their information.
Sources:
http://politics.com.ph/thinking-pinoy-designated-new-dfa-consultant/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/895511/mocha-uson-appointed-as-pcoo-assistant-secretary
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/911048/complaint-filed-vs-aguirre-over-fake-news
http://www.interaksyon.com/doj-chief-aguirre-helps-launch-citizen-national-guard-vs-yellowtards-and-other-enemies-of-the-state/
More than a year into his presidency and he has failed to deliver some of his key campaign promises and has committed numerous blunders – but people are still extremely supportive of him. In fact, support for him has intensified even more, as seen on social media and in recent surveys. Facebook pages such as Mocha Uson Blog and Thinking Pinoy keep on promoting the good works of the new president while at the same time spewing vitriolic messages towards opposition figures who tried to malign the president in any way – sometimes already relying on conspiracy theories and fake news. These pages claim to be the “alternative media” which serve to discredit what they call as “biased mainstream media” which, according to them, try to “destabilize” the current administration while at the same time favoring the opposition. What is frustrating about this, however, is that the ones who are running these pages are appointed government officials who are bound by a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards (RA 6713). For instance, Mocha Uson was appointed as a PCOO undersecretary, while RJ Nieto of Thinking Pinoy was appointed as a consultant for the DFA. As a reaction to the growing number of pro-Duterte pages, pro-opposition pages have started to sprout up through blogs such as Pinoy Ako Blog and Silent No More PH. These blogs aim to oppose this administration and debunk fake news peddled by pro-administration pages that seek to damage the opposition’s reputation. This has created a schism in the discourse of political issues – the “DDS” or the “Duterte Diehard Supporters” and the “Dilawan” or the pro-Liberal Party/pro-opposition. Instead of tackling issues, people from both sides would resort to ad hominem attacks, reducing each other to labels. The narrative has shifted from “we want to make this country better” to “we are better than you” and because of this, social media has become a toxic place for political discourse.
This bitter word war on social media between people who are for and against this admin has reached the government level. Even the DOJ secretary and the president himself have used the word “yellows” to identify the admin critics (even if not all critics are supporters of the Liberal Party), and that whatever bad press they were receiving, it was always the fault of the Liberal Party. Other than that, at times, the DOJ has also relied on fake news in accusing opposition figures of doing illegal acts or conspiring to oust the president. In a recent hearing, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre deemed critics, who he labels as “Yellowtards” as enemies of the state – equating them to terrorist groups such as ISIS, the CPP-NPA, and the drug cartels. This is very much reminiscent of the Marcos dictatorship wherein critics are heavily punished by the state. This doesn’t seem to bother his supporters - in fact, a lot of them even approve of this, since their primary goal is to remove all forms of opposing voices. This just goes to show how dangerously powerful misinformation in social media is because it transcends from cyberspace to reality and as a result, it personally affects the lives of everyone involved.
Are we trying to say then that the concerns and frustrations of Duterte supporters towards the opposition make no sense? Definitely not. Their immense support for the current president is brought about by an administration that neglected their needs. Corruption, high crime rates, and ineptitude that thrived during the Aquino administration are completely valid reasons for their frustrations; however, thanks to these hate-filled pages and the proliferation of fake news, their anger may have already blown out of proportion. It is bothersome to notice that these avid supporters of Duterte who previously criticized PNoy are suddenly defensive and unwilling to listen to facts every time the current president commits the same blunders as the previous administration. This defensiveness is a direct contradiction to Duterte’s campaign slogan “Change Is Coming” because “change” would mean that the errors of the previous administration will not be repeated by the current one. If we want real change, we need to reawaken their senses and understand that what we are fighting for is not a specific political figure, but for a system that is right and just and fair for all. All forms of corruption, be it from the administration or opposition, should be called out and be dealt with by the law. In times like these, arguing on who is better does not help. It is high time for campaigns on information literacy especially in the dark era of fake news. We have to be very wary of what we read or post online - and this applies to all articles - be it for or against the administration. We have to check our personal biases and be critical of the sources where these publications get their information.
Sources:
http://politics.com.ph/thinking-pinoy-designated-new-dfa-consultant/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/895511/mocha-uson-appointed-as-pcoo-assistant-secretary
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/911048/complaint-filed-vs-aguirre-over-fake-news
http://www.interaksyon.com/doj-chief-aguirre-helps-launch-citizen-national-guard-vs-yellowtards-and-other-enemies-of-the-state/
