OPINION | The dangers of political noise

March 24, 2025 , 03:10 PM

By Manny Mogato

(March 24, 2025) — Social media platforms were flooded with videos, photos, and texts supporting detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, demanding his immediate return from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the Philippines.

Duterte’s supporters wanted to project an impression that Filipinos disagreed with the decision of the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to arrest and hand him over to The Hague.

However, many of these social media posts were based on fabricated information. There was a protest in Serbia, during which Duterte supporters posted that it was in The Netherlands, and the protesters chanted, “Duterte, Duterte.”

The gullible would readily believe it was an authentic video and would likely share the misinformation on their social media accounts.

Some die-hard Duterte fanatics who knew the video was inaccurate would happily repost and share the video to win clicks from hoodwinked supporters of the former strongman, hoping to monetize the post.

Any self-respecting journalist would avoid the propaganda, but some journalists, who moonlight as pro-Duterte vloggers, would share and repost the false information.

On the day Duterte was arrested at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino Internationa Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong, hundreds of pages on social media went to work to attack the government and sympathize with the former president.

Authorities said more than 200 social media accounts sprang on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and posted identical messages, saying the arrest was illegal and the government surrendered the Philippine sovereignty to foreigners.

Up to now, pro-Duterte posts have flooded social media platforms, demonstrating to global audiences that the former president remained immensely popular among the population.

This was not accurate. In reality, there were fewer Duterte supporters, but they were too noisy on social media, projecting strength in numbers.

Based on independent surveys, the number of Filipinos supporting the president exceeded the number of Duterte’s followers. About 30 percent of the population asked in the polls supporter Marcos while Duterte’s shrank to less than 20 percent. He used to have 80 to 90 percent support when he was in power.

Some political scientists and university professors attributed Duterte’s support level to fear.

During his six years in office, tens of thousands of people, mostly poor drug users and street-level peddlers, were killed in his signature “war on drugs” policy.

The people were afraid to go against Duterte’s war on drugs policy. They also supported his genocidal campaign, fearing they would be likely targets if they voiced opposition and challenged his policy.

A recent survey done by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed only 25 percent of the respondents supported Duterte’s war on drugs and opposed moves to hold him accountable for the thousands of death.

The same survey also showed 51 percent wanted him held accountable.

Where are the 51 percent? They were not heard on social media platforms. Only 25 percent were noisy, aided by Duterte’s allies, and amplified by troll farms and bots.

Only a few noisy Duterte people were behind social media posts. Machines and troll farms with identical messages, including the punctuations, make up the majority.

The government had its troll operations. However, the government’s efforts were ineffective.

Their efforts were drowned by the pro-Duterte propaganda. They were easily drowned by disinformation which was more relatable to ordinary people.

Thus, Filipinos should avoid social media platforms for information. They will be more vulnerable to propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, false and manipulated videos, photos, and texts.

There’s a bigger problem than the spread and proliferation of disinformation. “Fake news” is not the proper term because there’s no such thing as “fake” news. It’s just fabricated lies and deliberate disinformation.

News is verifiable information based on facts. It’s evidence-based, well-researched, vetted by editors, and underwent a process.

It’s different from unverified, unsubstantiated, concoctions made by some social media users who do not follow ethical standards imposed on journalists.

Some vloggers practice good journalism. They should be lauded for creating content based on well-researched data and facts.

Duterte was instrumental in maligning legacy media, attacking some local and international news agencies and organizations.

He considered legacy media and journalists as “state enemies.” He even shut down the country’s largest broadcast network and supported libel charges against independent news portal, Rappler.

It is not a surprise that Duterte’s social media influencers also maligned legacy media, accusing journalists of paid hacks, bias, and purveyors of lies.

They were poisoning the minds of Filipinos, convincing social media users to stay away from legacy media and trust only vloggers.

The political noise created by pro-Duterte vloggers and the demonization of legacy media are a deadly combination that could threaten national security as these could lead to further polarization of the country.

Duterte would celebrate his 80th birthday by the end of the week, which could test the government on how it could handle the spread of disinformation that could foment violence.

The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.