On trolls, Zuckerberg mañanitas AND
Trolls seem to operate on the notion that being against this administration automatically makes one a ‘Dilawan’ devotee. To be nationalistic doesn’t require membership to any political party whatsoever, ‘Dilawan’ or otherwise
The word “troll” is one many Filipinos have encountered repeatedly since the infancy of the current administration. What first began as a strategic campaign move has since evolved into an online army hellbent on spreading fake news. A typical troll’s job description also allegedly includes: venerating the President and all his lackeys and, most recently, creating countless dummy accounts on Facebook.
These days, encountering trolls on Facebook is no longer out of the ordinary, especially when it comes to any and all discussions about Philippine politics. Where there is strong dissent against the government, there is a quick response of “eh kung ikaw nalang mag president (how about if you take over as president)???” This same type of ad hominem fallacy has quickly become a troll’s knee-jerk reaction since 2016.
This mañanita is a stand for our future, in hopes of a tomorrow where justice is afforded to all.
Debating with troll accounts is as frustrating as it is pointless. Every logical argument is met with unwavering loyalty and coupled with fervent denial of any wrongdoing done by the current administration, regardless of the facts. Midway into the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), news broke out that trolls get paid even more when they start up these arguments online. So, though it may require great restraint, do not engage.
‘Dilawan ka siguro’
Living in a country where political parties are hard to distinguish from one another, I don’t quite understand this time-old “Dilawan” response. Trolls seem to operate on the notion that being against this administration automatically makes one a
“Dilawan” devotee. Frankly, I don’t feel like I need to affiliate myself with a political party in order to love my country. To be nationalistic doesn’t require membership to any political party whatsoever,
“Dilawan” or otherwise.
Attack of the trolls
What began as a normal Sunday morning stretched into hours of self-stalking to comb through multiple fake accounts on Facebook. This seemed to be a common experience for nearly everyone who signed the #JunkTerrorBill petition online.
But how does one account for the mass creation of these dummy accounts for hundreds of people all across the nation? A glitch? It all feels way too suspicious to be signed off as a coincidence.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fake accounts that appeared overnight, all bearing the same anonymous profile format: zero friends, no profile picture and created under my own name. One could make the argument that my name isn’t uncommon — okay, fine. But how does one account for the mass creation of these dummy accounts for hundreds of people all across the nation? A glitch? I don’t think so. It all feels way too suspicious to be signed off as a coincidence. That Sunday eerily felt like a Black Mirror episode come to life. It was even worse for others. In a sort of twisted doppelganger-esque scenario, many received hostile threats from their fake accounts via Facebook Messenger.
At a time when the pandemic has forced everyone to relocate their lives to online platforms, the threats felt personal. Fear is what trolls seem to be after now. To be honest, I, too, was a bit shaken up by Sunday’s events. However, we cannot allow to be bullied into silence, not when our collective freedom is at stake.
Zucks to be you!
Mark Zuckerberg, the brains behind the boomer’s favorite social network, has long had a history of data privacy violations.
After Sunday’s reporting spree, my inbox was filled to the brim with emails from Facebook, all acknowledging the submission of my reports. Two days later, another flood of emails came in. This time most of the emails had the same generic response of indifference from Facebook, claiming that the dummy accounts are not fake and do not go against any of the social media platform’s “Community Rules.” Unbelievable.
To date, numerous fake accounts, both bearing my friends’ names and my own, are still up on
Facebook. Whether or not these accounts will send threats in the future, who knows? Thanks, Zuck.
A grand (not a party po!) mañanita
This is the first Independence Day in my lifetime that I’ve spent seriously worried about the future of democracy. There’s no denying that these times are bleak, with an ever-growing amount of COVID-positive cases and the threat of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. The government’s actions, or lack thereof, when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic have made their agenda very clear.
Before I go on, here’s a quick rundown on what the government HAS done:
Ordered the closure of ABS-CBN, effectively taking away a valuable source of free news and information nationwide;
Prioritized the Anti-Terrorism Bill in the midst of a global pandemic;
Jailed the #Piston6 for protesting despite the participants practicing social distancing and wearing masks and
Arrested student protesters in Cebu, again, despite the participants practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
Mind you, this is but a very, very short list of actions that this administration has done over the past few weeks alone.
As I celebrate 12 June’s mañanita on Zoom, I find comfort in knowing that this protest — this continuous fight for freedom, is found everywhere today. On the streets, online and in every home, we celebrate this non-party in remembrance of our own history and in defiance of the trolls that have threatened to silence us. This mañanita is a stand for our future, in hopes of a tomorrow where justice is afforded to all.
As one of my old friends put it, we continue to fight not only for ourselves, but more importantly, for the lost, the least and the last.