Focap asks social media firms to act on online attacks vs press

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MANILA, Philippines — On World Press Freedom Day, a group of journalists expressed grave concern over online attacks and threats directed at some of their members, particularly from supporters of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as they called on social media companies to take action.

The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) cited three instances, among them the experience of Washington Post’s Manila correspondent Regine Cabato who was called a “whorenalist” for her story on historical revisionism regarding the Marcos dictatorship.

BBC News’ Howard Johnson also received hate comments and threats from Marcos Jr.’s supporters on Facebook after he asked the son and namesake of the late dictator how he could be a good president if he refused to do “serious interviews.” Marcos Jr. replied to Johnson’s question with a laugh.

‘Will slash your neck’

One commenter told Johnson after the incident that “someone will slash your neck for besmirching the Filipinos’ reputation.”

Focap said the BBC journalist had asked Facebook to investigate the threat against him.

Focap called on media companies of social media platforms Twitter, Facebook (Meta), Instagram, Google and YouTube to start an investigation, noting how the “possible coordinated behavior” and “provocative content” of some pro-Marcos personalities and supporters could endanger, smear and incite hate against journalists.

At the same time, Focap raised the issue of how difficult it had been to get access to Marcos Jr. and even his camp during the campaign period, particularly in getting reactions to issues and controversies hounding him.

Hard to interview Marcos

“He (Marcos Jr.) has not submitted himself to a free-flowing, open and uncensored press conference during the entire campaign like most other candidates and has stayed away from independent but potentially critical debates and interviews, including those organized by the Commission on Elections,” it said.

“In some instances, reporters have been roughhoused while trying to get close to him,” it added.

In an interview with CNN Philippines’ Ruth Cabal, one of the few occasions Marcos Jr. faced a member of the press, he wondered why there were complaints about his inaccessibility to the media when he was often available.

Yet, reporters covering his sorties have found it hard to talk to him through ambush interviews. In one campaign in Manila, journalists assigned to him noticed that a steel barricade had been put up, apparently to discourage any interviews.

‘Unreasonable restraints’

Most of the time, Marcos Jr.’s spokesperson and chief of staff Victor Rodriguez responds to reporters’ queries.

“All these restrictive actions undermine a critical and free press in an Asian bulwark of democracy and have sparked fears of how independent media would be treated under another possible Marcos presidency,” Focap emphasized.

It said that it would not “stand idly by when its members and local colleagues face intimidation and unreasonable restraints,” adding that Focap was founded “in the dark days of Martial law in 1974 to safeguard press freedom threats that have never ceased to this day.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also expressed hope that the press would persist regardless of the one in power.

Still, it was optimistic that voters would pick leaders “who will push for more spaces for discourse and dissent, more access to government information, more transparency and a healthy relationship with the media.”

—WITH A REPORT FROM KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING

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