Imee admits resentment over FB’s takedown of Marcos pages during 2019 polls
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos on Wednesday admitted feeling resentful after Facebook’s took down several Marcos pages during last election’s campaign period for alleged “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
At the same time, Marcos, first daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, also questioned why the social media giant tapped news organizations perceived to be critical of the Duterte administration as fact-checkers.
“Ang parati nating sinasabi yung coordinated [inauthentic] behavior, e kapag eleksyon e talagang coordinated yan. Sasabihin ko na yung totoo, ako may hinanakit sa mga takedown na yan nung March 2019,” Marcos said during a hearing of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, which she chairs.
(We’ve always said that when we’re talking of coordinated [inauthentic] behavior, there’s always coordinated behavior when its election season. To tell you the truth, I’m feeling resentful over the taking down of pages in March 2019.)
The committee is tackling a resolution urging government agencies to devise and install an effective tool that would detect and repel potential foreign interference during the elections.
“Maraming fan pages na mga Marcos loyalists ang nadale diyan. Hindi namin hawak, they’re not registered with the Comelec [Commission on Elections], because we have absolutely no control over these groups,” she added.
(There are a lot of fan pages of Marcos loyalists that were affected by that, they’re not registered with the Comelec, because we have absolutely no control over these groups.)
Marcos said she was “mystified” why such pages were taken down.
“They were like basic fan pages but naturally, in the midst of a campaign, their actions were probably what could be called coordinated,” she added.
Information and Communications Secretary Undersecretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic explained to Marcos that under Facebook’s policy on “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” it would be possible for a legitimate page to be taken down if such a behavior perpetrated by fake accounts is detected in the authentic account.
“Posibleng tama naman ang pahina mo, that’s a legit page, pero pag napapansin po kasing may coordinated inauthentic behavior, meaning to say, maraming fake accounts, na nagla-like at nagpo-post sa legit page mo, pwede kayong ma-take down, hindi dahil sadya mo ‘yon,” Caintic said.
(Your page may be legit but if Facebook detects coordinated inauthentic behavior, meaning to say, it could be coming from fake accounts who are liking or posting on your legitimate page, you may be taken down, it’s not your fault.)
FB fact-checkers in PH
Marcos also questioned why the social media giant chose to tap Vera Files and Rappler as its fact-checker in the Philippines.
“Yung laging daing ng ating administrasyon, kung bakit yung fact-checker na ginagamit ng Facebook e yung dalawang tanyag na media na bumabatikos kay Presidente Duterte sa kada kilos, halos, e yung Rappler at yung Vera Files, bakit itina-tap yan bilang gatekeeper ika nga,” Marcos said.
(The repeated complaint of this administration is why Facebook tapped two organizations critical of President Duterte as its fact-checkers, Rappler and Vera Files, why are they being tapped as gate-keepers.)
In 2018, Facebook partnered with Vera Files and Rappler for its third-party fact-checking program in the Philippines.
In earlier statements, Rappler and Vera Files said they were fact-checkers accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which Vera Files described as “a global alliance of fact-checkers committed to advancing accountability journalism.”
“I’m not saying that we don’t need fact-checkers, we absolutely require them,” Marcos also said.
Jonathan Ong, an academic researcher and global digital media professor from the University of Massachusetts, said that while there are instances in other countries, like India, that fact-checkers tapped by Facebook “become much more explicit in their political alignment,” the “incredible work” of journalists and fact-checkers should still be recognized.
“We also have to recognize that journalists and fact-checkers have done incredible work when it comes to fact-checking and keeping politicians honest with regard to Covid, with regard to medical misinformation, so they have done a lot in terms of deepening our understanding around that,” Ong said.
