Re-electionist officials tapping online disinformation peddlers - Barbers

Metro Manila, Philippines - A House member has called on the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police on Friday, May 2, to file charges against online disinformation peddlers more than a week before the elections.

Without naming names, Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers said his colleagues, governors, and mayors hire disinformation content creators to put contenders in a bad light in social media.

“There is an emergence of local neophyte mercenary vloggers who are engaged in manipulating video interviews, setting their own news agenda and spreading fake and misleading fabricated online contents in the social media," Barbers said in a statement.

“Dati-rati, ang paksa lang ng mga sikat na vloggers ay national issue ang sikat. Ngayon, marami na at dumarami pa dahil sa nalalapit na eleksyon ang mga mersenaryong local fake news vloggers,” he added.

[Translation: Previous topics of popular vloggers were about national issues. Now, local mercenary fake news vloggers proliferate as the elections near.]

Barbers said the police should mobilize regional anti-cybercrime units to go after the disinformation peddlers.