Published: 7:52pm, 13 Feb 2025Updated: 8:50pm, 13 Feb 2025
When the Facebook pages of four major influencers suddenly became unavailable on February 7, online users immediately linked it to the raging feud between the country’s two most powerful political clans, those of former president Rodrigo Duterte and the incumbent Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.
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All four influencers are vociferous Duterte supporters who had shared anti-Marcos content with their hundreds of thousands of followers. Last Friday, the influencers’ Facebook pages went dark, each bearing the same message: “The content isn’t available.”
Asked if he saw an effort to take down pro-Duterte influencers, lawyer and Senate candidate Vic Rodriguez told This Week in Asia: “Yes, there is an emerging pattern where the government is perceived to be deliberately curtailing our right to free speech, expression and of the press.”
Rodriguez, who was Marcos Jnr’s general campaign manager in the 2022 presidential polls and served as his executive secretary for three months before turning against his boss, is now running for the Senate under Duterte’s Tunay na Maisug na Opposition (Truly Strong Opposition). He said the Facebook takedown of the accounts was “all characteristic of an authoritarian rule”.
The disabling of the influencers’ sites happened against the backdrop of three events in the Philippines: the impeachment of Duterte’s daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio; the start of the campaign period for the midterm elections in May; and congressional actions on fake news and disinformation.
Trolls part of politics
Social media influencers and trolls have played a significant role in Philippine politics since 2016, when they helped Rodrigo Duterte win the presidency. His followers called themselves DDS – “Diehard Duterte Supporters”, a successful masking of the original meaning of the acronym, Davao Death Squads, which were groups set up by Duterte that allegedly carried out extrajudicial killings for his war on drugs when he was mayor.