House leaders slam ‘weaponization of disinformation’

MANILA, Philippines — Two leaders of the House of Representatives yesterday said that fake accounts supportive of former president Rodrigo Duterte are manipulating the election discourse and pose a serious threat to democracy and the public.

House deputy speaker Rep. David Suarez denounced what he called the “weaponization of disinformation” through fake pro-Duterte social media accounts, warning that these coordinated digital campaigns are undermining Philippine democracy ahead of the elections.

“This is digital warfare, plain and simple. And the battlefield is not just the internet – it’s the hearts and minds of millions of Filipinos,” Suarez said in a statement.

Suarez was reacting to a Reuters investigation that revealed how inauthentic accounts flooded social media with praise for Duterte and are now actively shaping the online conversation about the upcoming polls.

The report, citing research by Israeli tech firm Cyabra, found that about a third of the accounts posting about Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court were fake.

It also warned that up to 45 percent of discussions related to the 2025 elections are being driven by inauthentic actors such as bots, sock puppets and paid influencers – potentially reaching tens of millions of users.

Suarez said that the growing scale and sophistication of such disinformation networks are drowning out legitimate voices online and eroding public trust in democratic institutions.

He urged major social media platforms like Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube to take stronger, more proactive action to detect and remove coordinated fake accounts.

“They can’t just turn a blind eye while democracy is under attack,” he said.

Suarez also called for all political players to uphold clean and honest elections.

“Let’s put an end to this toxic culture before it poisons another generation of voters,” he said.

For his part, House senior deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. called for a nationwide effort to protect Filipino voters from digital deception.

He urged the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to launch a joint national digital literacy program to help students and the public identify and resist coordinated disinformation campaigns.

“It’s not enough to fact-check after the damage is done. We need to inoculate our people against lies and fake news – especially the youth who are most active online and most vulnerable to digital manipulation,” Gonzales said.

He also called on all political parties to categorically reject the use of “click armies” and paid influencers.

“Disinformation is not a campaign strategy. It is a threat to free elections and informed choice,” Gonzales said. “If we truly believe in democracy, then we must all play fair.”