Andanar on Freedom House report: What ‘keyboard army’?

PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC)

Malacanang disputed on Friday the report of a United States-based human rights watchdog, claiming that the Philippine government has employed a “keyboard army” to manipulate information online in support of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar asserted that Malacañang does not employ a “keyboard army” but instead cited the millions of voters who catapulted Mr. Duterte to the presidency.

“The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) does not employ a ‘keyboard army’. What President Duterte has are millions of supporters, 16 million of which turned up at polling precincts throughout the land,” he said.

“With that said, we’re quite interested in how Freedom House created its report and would appreciate it if they can also share how they gathered their data,’ he added.

In its report, Freedom House said: “News reports citing individuals involved said the commenters, which they characterized as part of a ‘keyboard army,’ could earn at least PHP500 (US$10) a day operating fake social media accounts supporting President Rodrigo Duterte or attacking his detractors.”

Additionally, the Freedom House report stated that: “Other reports put the figure at P2,000-3,000 ($40-60) a day.”                        /kga