Welcome back to Slow News Days, a now-and-then newsletter on journalism and journalism-adjacent topics in the Philippines.
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We all have read by now about disinformation and influence operations, some done through ad agencies or through social media influencers but have not talked much about what to do about them.
The standard response is that the best way to address their disinformation is with better information. And that is true but true in the sense that that is about all we can do.
As journalists, it will be difficult for us to call out advertising and marketing agencies who offer these as a clandestine service or as a side project, especially those we also have to do above-board business with.
We have also seen in the few tangles we have had with vloggers and influencers that calling them out will likely not win them over either. If anything, we risk getting more people even angrier at us.
The narrowest target, then, or the ones available to us are the spin centers of the government. In the first place, keeping an eye on dubious claims by government agencies is part of our function.
And in the second, we have a moral duty to interrogate content that puts people at risk of actual harm — whether that harm is in believing that eating bananas will help ward off COVID-19 or that organizing, criticism and dissent equal sedition and outright rebellion.
The media community in the Philippines holds most of its events in May — because of World Press Freedom Day — and November — because of the International Day to End Impunity, the commemoration of the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre, and the simple truth that we will all be busy in December.
I have had the privilege to sit in on some of those events, shared some thoughts at others and listened to others' thoughts at others still.
As is often the case, there are a lot of good ideas and proposals on how media can move forward. Going back to the basics, working towards better collaboration, pushing for more support for regional and community newsrooms.
I think we all agree that the coming elections are another crucial moment in the country's democracy but have our own ideas on what media's role is in that moment and how we can best fulfill that role.
All these disagreements are, of course, part of the independence of newsrooms and of individual journalists.
I hope, though, that we can agree on one truth — this has really been my only pitch and story since 2017 — and that is that equating critical reporting, community organizing and human rights work with open rebellion against the republic is wrong and should be interrogated as often and as much as we can.
From a disinformation standpoint, it's part of holding the line against the rising use of cyber troops — "trolls" in the service of governments and political parties — around the world.
The Oxford Internet Institute, in a study on cyber troops released in January, notes that their use has been increasing, and has been industrialized and professionalized.
Among the examples in the report is how "between 2019-2020, recent examples of government-led activity include the Philippine Police who used Facebook to influence narratives about military activities against terrorism."
In Guatemala, OII has reported 'net centers' that use fake accounts that label individuals as "terrorists or foreign invaders" and target journalists with vocabulary associated with war, such as "enemies of the country."
Closer to home are Chinese cyber troops that launched smear campaigns against Hong Kong protesters.
In a year when the Nobel Peace Prize recognizes that “free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” it is practically an obligation.
But on a more fundamental level, a human rights lawyer and ally of the media community pointed out over the weekend that it is important to do this because it is really the only appropriate response to messaging that standing up for your rights is being in conspiracy against the government.
The alternative is this: "We give up our rights when we allow the demonization of those who fight for our rights."
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Some related links:
Disinformation reporter (and US federal agent?) Clint Watts looks into China’s propaganda and disinformation strategy in 2021, which is relevant because of the West Philippine Sea and because of the training that our Presidential Communications and Operations Office has received from them. (There are similarities, with differences in scale)
Here is a New Yorker profile on Dmitry Muratov, the other Nobel Peace Prize winner for this year. I was not sure what I was expecting, but it deals with democratization of the newsroom, compromises and negotiations to stay in business, and how journalism in Russia follows a different although familiar tradition.
NUJP earlier this month launched the Ethical Guide for Filipino Journalists with the support of Internews and USAID. Written by respected journalist DJ Yap and based on a review of best practices and case studies as well as discussions with colleagues from across the Philippines, it’s the union’s contribution towards self-regulation and, for DJ, a love letter to the industry.