PCG says trolling vs PH increased ‘tenfold’
Online trolls attacking the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) grew “tenfold” after the government became “transparent” about tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) under the Marcos administration.
“When we started the transparency initiative, we could only point to around 1,000 trolls,” PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a Philippine National Police forum on disinformation in Camp Crame on Friday.
“But right now, the trolls on social media platforms have already increased more than tenfold. In short, there are now 10,000 social media accounts that we are monitoring that counter our position in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Tarriela’s statement came after Sen. Francis Tolentino bared evidence of an alleged agreement between the Chinese embassy and a marketing firm to fund a troll farm to discredit the Philippine government.
Troll types, narratives
According to Tarriela, the PCG observed three types of online trolls regarding West Philippine Sea matters: initiators, disseminators and reposters.
He described initiators as “pro-China” influencers, who would “start the discussion by countering our factual narrative in the West Philippine Sea.”
Meanwhile, disseminators were “soulless social media accounts … created for them to proliferate disinformation conducted by the initiators,” he said.
Reposters were “supporters or fanatics of known political candidates that counter our position in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Tarriela also said that based on their observations of online discussions, the supposed trolls’ common tactics include insisting that the country’s claim over the West Philippine Sea has no legal bases and saying the government was being influenced by the United States.
Joint action committee
The PNP’s forum on disinformation on Thursday was immediately followed by the official launch of its Joint Anti-Fake News Action Committee (Jafnac).
Tarriela signed a pledge of commitment and support for the Jafnac to promote “responsible communication,” mobilize “legitimate platforms,” strengthen digital literacy and fact-checking, and coordinate with other sectors to develop “responsive and ethical” responses to fake news.
The PCG spokesperson also said the agency was visiting educational institutions across the country to further raise awareness about the country’s claim over WPS.
“We are doubling our efforts to make sure that the Filipino people, especially the younger generation, will not be victimized by fake news and misinformation,” Tarriela said.
