House rep asks senator to name state official behind troll farms
A MEMBER of the House of Representatives on Wednesday asked Senator Panfilo M. Lacson to name the public official supposedly organizing troll farms nationwide to attack opposition bets in the 2022 elections and other candidates not aligned with the administration.
Mr. Lacson earlier said an undersecretary tapped his former staff to assist in the creation of at least two troll farms in every province in the country.
“We ask Sen. Lacson to share the details of these illegal operations and to name the public official spearheading it,” Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Ferdinand R. Gaite said in a statement.
Mr. Gaite asked whether the troll farms supposedly created by a state official are the same artificial users involved in red-tagging progressive groups and in sharing fake news and offensive posts targeting government critics.
He said the senator should divulge details regarding the serious issue to determine whether public funds are being used to perpetrate such illegal operations.
Mr. Gaite and other members of the progressive House bloc Makabayan last year asked government agencies to launch independent investigations into the involvement of the country’s police and military in the creation of over 100 fake social media accounts, which were taken down by Facebook.
Also last year, Facebook shut down 155 accounts, 11 pages, nine groups, and six Instagram accounts that originated in China with posts expressing strong support for the leadership of President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is supposedly being urged to run for president next year.
Political observers have said fake accounts, which are involved in the perpetration of fake news, would be a threat to the 2022 polls. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
