Philippines’ crackdown on Duterte disinformation may backfire, analysts warn

Philippine authorities are cracking down on misinformation surrounding former president Rodrigo Duterte, but analysts warn that this could backfire by further entrenching his supporters’ beliefs and deepening the country’s political divide.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said this week that it was investigating around 20 vloggers accused of spreading falsehoods online surrounding Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court – including claims that the arrests were warrantless and unlawful, and fabricated statements of support carrying logos of international news publications.

Those vloggers may face charges of cyber libel and inciting to sedition, NBI director Jaime Santiago said. Already, there are arrest warrants out for two of them.

Meta also took down the Facebook pages of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) for “spreading hate and contempt”. SMNI is the media company of controversial evangelist Apollo Quiboloy, a Duterte ally who faces fraud and trafficking charges in the Philippines and the United States.

Observers told This Week in Asia that this spread of disinformation appeared coordinated.

Gary Ador Dionisio, dean of the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde’s School of Diplomacy and Governance, observed that the disinformation aimed to “delegitimise the arrest, discredit the case, and divide our nation.”