Deputy Speaker David Suarez and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. raised concern over the spread of disinformation on social media, following a Reuters report that found nearly one-third of X (formerly Twitter) accounts discussing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s possible arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) were fake.
The report, based on research by watchdog group Cyabra, also revealed that up to 45 percent of online conversations about the upcoming midterm elections are being pushed by bots, sock puppets, avatars, and paid influencers.
“This is digital warfare, plain and simple. And the battlefield is not just the internet, it’s the hearts and minds of millions of Filipinos,” Suarez said in a statement.
He said the use of fake praise, fake news, and fake accounts is misleading voters and poses one of the most dangerous threats to democracy.
“They have the resources and the algorithms to detect inauthentic behavior. They can’t just turn a blind eye while democracy is under attack,” Suarez said, urging platforms like Meta, X, and YouTube to take stronger action against coordinated fake accounts.
Gonzales echoed the concern, warning that the growing sophistication of digital manipulation threatens the integrity of the country’s elections.
“We must defend the Filipino people not just from guns and goons, but from ghost accounts flooding their social media feeds with propaganda and deception,” he said.
“When bots, trolls, and fake profiles can reach millions of Filipinos and alter the truth with just a few clicks, democracy itself is under attack,” Gonzales added.
To fight disinformation, Gonzales called for a national digital literacy campaign to be led by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology. The campaign would aim to help students and the general public identify and resist online manipulation.
“It’s not enough to fact-check after the damage is done. We need to inoculate our people against lies and fake news, especially the youth who are most active online and most vulnerable to digital manipulation,” he said.
Gonzales also urged political parties to reject the use of digital “click armies” and paid influencers.
“Disinformation is not a campaign strategy. It is a threat to free elections and informed choice,” he said. “If we truly believe in democracy, then we must all play fair.”