MANILA, Philippines – As independent media in the Philippines started reporting about the upcoming 2022 elections, online attacks targeting journalists also ramped up in 2021.
Rappler’s analysis of big data showed that social media posts calling journalists derogatory terms such as “bayaran” (paid hacks) and “presstitute” (a portmanteau of “press” and “prostitute”), among others, increased in the second half of 2021.
The repetitive push of narratives on social media that painted the free press as “biased” against political figures, particularly the Marcos family and the Duterte administration, were meant to undermine the public’s trust in the media.
The attacks often contained false information that aimed to diminish media’s credibility and publicly shame them for doing their job of providing checks and balances vis-a-vis the three branches of government.
Both President Rodrigo Duterte and the Marcos family have a history of accusing members of the Philippine media of unfairness for simply reporting critically about them. Duterte was named one of the 37 global leaders in Reporters Without Borders’ gallery of “press freedom predators” in 2021, while the camp of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently explained his refusal to be interviewed by veteran journalist Jessica Soho by accusing her of being “biased against the Marcoses.” (READ: Biased? GMA tells Marcos camp Jessica Soho’s questions ‘tough’ like the presidency)
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