Palace shrugs off report Facebook helped install Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang defended President Duterte and his campaign team’s use of Facebook during the presidential elections.

The social media network was criticized for supposedly aiding the electoral campaigns of some populist leaders around the world.

“Well, the technology exists and it would have been foolhardy for any political candidate not to tap Facebook as a campaign tool. All candidates did so, unfortunately for his detractors, President Duterte appeared to have been the best candidate who utilized Facebook the most,” said presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday.

Along with freedom of expression, he stressed that the internet is a tool to propagate ideas.

“The internet is the physical manifestation of a free marketplace of ideas and it should be there to flourish. Thus, freedom of expression is responsible for freedom of thought and public opinion, which we know would fiscalize governments,” he said. 

Roque made the statement after Facebook’s co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was confronted last September about his company’s role in US President Donald Trump’s rise to power.

Zuckerberg vehemently denied the social network’s involvement in catapulting Trump to the White House.

Apart from Trump, Duterte is also among the identified leaders who benefitted from social media.

“I don’t want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy. That’s not what we stand for,” Zuckerberg said in a live video on his platform. “The integrity of our elections is fundamental to democracy around the world.”