Cordillera youth group urges Facebook action on 'smear campaign' vs activists
MANILA, Philippines —The Baguio-Benguet chapter of a youth activist alliance is urging Facebook to take action against content that they say has endangered the lives of its members for months.
In a letter addressed to the social networking site, the Youth Act Now Against Tyranny (YANAT) Baguio-Benguet Chapter reported being on the receiving end of what it called a smear campaign on social media by anonymous "trolls" and by the police.
"We are writing this letter to officially report cases of online smear campaign, 'fake news attacks' harassment and threats that various organizations in the Cordillera Region, Philippines, have been receiving for the past two months, amid the pandemic," the letter, a copy of which was sent to Philstar.com, read.
"These are peddled by newly-created 'fake' Facebook accounts which can easily be identified through their fictitious names and over-all content. We are very much aware that all the above-mentioned online attacks against any individual or organization run counter to Facebook’s Community Standards," it added.
The letter was made public days after arrested protesters from the University of the Philippines Cebu also discovered blank accounts bearing their names on Facebook. Since then, reports of the same have swept over social media and have come to include non-student advocates in Metro Manila.
READ: Facebook duplicates 'may be used to perpetuate misinformation' — PNP
Even the country's national police has acknowledged that the dummy accounts could be used to peddle misinformation "and other nefarious activities."
At the same time, though, the Philippine National Police's own channels—along with those of other government agencies—have also posted content vilifying activists and tagging them as communist rebels, which the youth group also pointed to in its letter to Facebook.
'Careless linking'
Though various lawmakers have promised that the very anti-terror bill being protested would not be used to clamp down on critics, activists, and militants, the practice of red-tagging has been the norm for some time.
Philippine jurisprudence defines the act as "accusing individuals of being subversives [used as a] strategy...by state against against those perceived to be ‘threats’ or ‘enemies’ of the state."
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), for instance, has been caught on multiple occasions peddling misinformation against activists and journalists critical of the administration and accusing militant groups of being legal fronts for communist rebels.
"These are done through the careless linking of various legal and legitimate organizations and individuals in rebels and armed groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and New People’s Army (NPA) that are considered 'enemies of the state' in the Philippines," YANAT said in the letter.
READ: PNP 'art' tags activists as terrorists amid debate on anti-terrorism bill
The letter went on to point to content from the national police itself and linked to posts by the Police Regional Office-Cordillera page on Facebook from as far back as April.
One post read in Filipino: "Do not participate in left-leaning ONLINE ORIENTATION activities. It is a way of deceiving people, especially young people."
The same post accuses the group of having a "boss" in the Netherlands, while posts from other PNP-linked accounts include the black flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The faces of some activists are included in the images.
Sa petsa ng May 1, 2020 ay ipinagdiriwang ang Araw ng mga Manggagawa, pero may mga makakaliwang grupo na laging kumokontra sa Gobiyerno at ang kanilang ipinaglalaban ay pansariling Interes lamang.
— PNPBaguioStn4 (@PNPBaguioStn4) April 30, 2020
#TeamPNP #PNPKakampiMo @PNPChiefGamboa @rwinp88 @arfc97 @PNPBaguio @rcaddprocor pic.twitter.com/GE0JmWbKwr
"Meanwhile, we also appeal to take down particular posts posted by the country’s official police page in the region, Police Regional Office Cordillera, that has been publishing illicit content that causes harm, malice, and harassment the safety of our network of organizations and individuals," YANAT said.
The Commission on Human Rights has said that the practice "violates the constitutional guarantee of presumption of innocence and may have serious implications on the security and movement of individuals and groups involved."
RELATED: How activists respond to being tagged as rebels
Members of activist groups have often stressed that criticizing the government, or even agreeing with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army on certain issues, is not the same thing as taking up arms against the government.
At a press briefing Monday, Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, who sits as chief of the PNP, said that violations of the national police's social media protocols could warrant criminal and administrative raps for erring cops.
"Unfortunately, the accounts still runs up to date despite having some of their posts already been taken down by Facebook upon reporting. Fake accounts have increasingly afflicted the online space with antisocial behaviors such as that of trolling, harassing, and bullying groups and individuals from the online community," the group said.
"This conduct is a potent source of emotional distress for many of its victims...We urge you to carry out an investigation of these cases, which has posed as a threat to the safety of the members of these mass organizations. These threats clearly violate our rights to address our concerns as well as our rights to security," it added.
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