Rappler Reports US ‘Duterte’s Keyboard Army’ Report That Used Rappler, Inquirer Old Reports as Sources

Recently, US-based human rights watchdog Freedom House released a study about the so-called keyboard army allegedly being funded by the Duterte administration. According to the report, President Duterte’s paid trolls are earning around P500 a day to make it appear that Filipinos are in favor of the government’s intensified ware against illegal drugs.



“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. Other reports put the figure at PhP2,000-3,000 ($40-60) a day.” The report said.

“Though he had fewer resources than his opponents, Duterte directed much of his budget to fund social media campaigns before his surprise victory…Many of the accounts “continue to spread and amplify messages of support of [Duterte’s] policies now he’s in power,” though it is not clear whether they are working with official government channels.” It added.

Last Wednesday, November 15, Rappler released a news report titled “PH 'keyboard army' drumming up support for drug war – report,” published by Victor Barriero Jr. The report mentioned that “the country's paid commenters could earn anywhere from P500 ($10) to up to P2,000 or P3,000 ($40 to $60) daily,” and cited Freedom House as its source.

Must Read: * ‘Keyboard Army’ Member Admits Earning P500 Daily by Pretending to be DDS and Hack Their Facebook Accounts

Screenshots Credit: Freedom House

Screenshots Credit: Rappler

Now, here comes the interesting part. The Freedom House report cited Inquirer’s report by Eric S. Caruncho, titled “Confessions of a troll,” dated August 28, 2016 when it mentioned that “Other reports put the figure at PhP2,000-3,000 ($40-60) a day.” (Source No. 48). The said Inquirer report tells the confession of a certain William (of course not his real name).



You might also notice that Freedom House used two more news reports from Inquirer (Source No. 55 and 56), which are both published by Maila Ager in January 2017, as among its sources from their study. But more importantly, it also used a Rappler’s report by Maria Ressa published on October 6, 2016. (Source No. 54) Now, is the report not bias? Be the judge.

Contributed by Renato Pasayao