#LeniLeaks, elitist stupidity and a dismissive media

#LENILEAKS exploded into our social imaginations. It affirmed the fact that social media is no longer just a venue for self-affirmation of people about their looks and their food. It is where you could rise and be famous through serendipity and tenacity, or fall on your stupidity.

When Sass Rogando Sasot got a tip from a social media friend about the existence of the Yahoo groups conversations of the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), which she passed on to Thinking Pinoy—a pro-Duterte blogger who did the sleuthing and eventually posted it in his blog site, which he shared in FB and Twitter—what was unleashed were forces that revealed the reality that some of President Duterte’s enemies may have the money, but not the brains.

In the age of the Internet, and of serious threats to privacy, a failure to secure a sensitive conversation in cyberspace is beyond forgiveness. You simply do not plot to undermine a government and wage a war on social media activists who are pro-government without first ensuring that your discussions are secure. Conversations in a group that is closed could nevertheless still be accessed by the public, unless you set it to private.

But then again, some defenders of Loida Nicolas-Lewis, her sister Mely Nicolas and their anti-Duterte and anti-Marcos cabal now argue that it is precisely the innocuousness of their conversation that made them act without any consciousness of any security concerns. In other words, they simply had no malice, that they were merely engaging in harmless strategizing to help their friend Leni Robredo, which is also a perfectly legal right of any citizen, even of dual ones like Loida.

On the contrary, I would see their nonchalant, dismissive behavior as a rather offensive exercise of arrogance. Simply, they felt so self-entitled and messianic, even referring to themselves as if they are God’s gift to our political redemption from the twin evil of Duterte and Marcos. They are used to being privileged influential voices who helped in ousting and jailing Presidents, impeaching a Supreme Court Chief Justice and neutering a front-running presidential candidate, that they thought they can get away with anything. They reeked of self-entitlement, intoxicated like brats who can simply rearrange our political lives, acting as if they have a right to move us like pawns and to decide for us like we are simply their wards. They are so full of themselves that they thought they would not need the exigency of securing their conversations. They felt like they are political royalty, and therefore untouchable. They thought they owned us and our politics.

It was hubris for them to target social media netizens whom they labeled as mere trolls.

They did not realize that some of these so-called trolls happen to be not just people on a payroll in some cramped call center in Quezon City, or some home-bound conscripted unemployed netizen paid to act as Madam Claudia. They happen to be Sass RogandoSasot, a bright graduate student based in The Hague and Thinking Pinoy, a computer-savvy blogger. Both are educated, articulate and are as committed to their politics as Leni Robredo’s protectors, funders and sponsors.

They also forgot the enormous network of support that President Duterte and even Bongbong Marcos have in social media. These are people who they all derisively insult, and therefore have every reason to declare war on them.

The arrogance of Loida and her cabal is matched by the same level of arrogance of many in traditional media, when they become dismissive of the existence and value of #LeniLeaks. One of them even had the temerity to lecture Sass and Thinking Pinoy to call a press conference, and only then would they enjoy the privilege of coverage.

#LeniLeaks has exposed those in traditional media who are self-absorbed, mechanical entities, if not closet political partisans. Some of them are probably used to privilege and pampering by political operators while others are so consumed by their own personal politics, such as their advocacies on human rights and against the Marcoses, that they forget that the job of media is to bring pure unadulterated news to the public.

A plot to destabilize the presidency is newsworthy. Elite Filipinos in the diaspora, in cahoots with local remnants of the losing political side, plotting to undermine the President is as newsworthy as his cursing. A conversation revealing the Office of the Vice President as involved and supported by rich and influential expats to attack ordinary citizens is as newsworthy as the death of a dog or Mocha’s appointment to the MTRCB.

Dismissing #LeniLeaks was a breaking point that further revealed to the people that social media bloggers like Sass and Thinking Pinoy indeed deserve more of their attention, respect and protection. One should therefore not blame the people if they see these partisan media personalities in the same light that they see Loida and her cabal, as their enemies. -BY ANTONIO P. CONTRERAS
Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/

On 16:57:00

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Trolls, memes and bloggers: #LeniLeaks paints a sad picture of Filipino politics

A social media war is raging in the Philippines. Powerful figures try to manipulate the conversation to fit their needs – ousting a president if they can, while the mainstream media sits on the sidelines. By Holly Reeves

Filipino netizens claim to have uncovered emails from an influential group of supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo plotting to use social media and online warfare to manipulate President Duterte out of office. What is more, the Philippine press conspires with them to “black out” the explosive allegations, they say.

The supposed plot, uncovered by outspoken activists Sass Rogando Sasot and her friend behind the ThinkingPinoy blog, is rooted in America but has links around the world. Their discovery shows a group of high-profile individuals planning ways to use the media, online communities and key social influencers to promote the Vice President and force Duterte to resign.

High-profile people are involved and the mainstream media is under fire for a lack of reporting

Influential members caught in the headlights of this public relations disaster include the billionaire lobbyist Loida Nicolas-Lewis, Loida’s sister and Commission on Filipinos Overseas Chairman Imelda Nicolas and prominent human rights lawyer Ted Laguatan. Other bureaucrats, journalists and senior civil society organisers are also on the distribution lists.

But for many the issue is bigger than a strategic communications push to defend a politician. Instead, it is the initial reluctance of the mainstream media to touch the story that has brought howls of disgust. One national network even stands accused of deleting related comments from its social media page. By Sunday the #lenileaks scandal did finally reach the front pages of national papers, but the social media fire had already been burning for days.

The story began several days ago when a sympathetic person alerted Sasot to the Global Filipino Diaspora Council Yahoo! Group. Although set to restricted, the group’s conversations were not made private – making them publicly viewable and easily shared around the world.

The group’s Robredo supporters want Duterte to resign 

One from Loida Nicolas Lewis, read, “The only way to fight this evil plot to unseat Vice President Leni Robredo is to ask Duterte to resign. After all, he promised to resign in six months if he has not solved the drug epidemic in the Philippines.” She adds, “He asked for an extension of another six months. Extension denied!”

The numerous exchanges, now hidden but available on archived links, lay out a clear social media strategy to defend the Vice President through placed media stories and attacks on bloggers. The most recent issues for the group seem to be the criticism of Robredo over her remarks about rehabilitation efforts in typhoon-hit areas, and her time spent in the US after the disaster hit.

The messages lay out a digital strategy for defending the Vice President

The leaks are a fascinating insight into the murky world of modern political communications. “The dissatisfaction with [Vice President] Leni does not come from Bikolanos,” it says. Instead, “It comes from troll influencers (Mocha, Sass, Thinking Pinoy) who never organised or mobilised efforts to help out the typhoon victims.”

But if the response from the group is to send out waves of memes, comments, postings and carefully collected photos that undermine the President, then surely they have become trolls themselves. Sitting silently on the edges of the edges of everyday politics they push and tweak what is publicly seen to get the reaction they want? And how much of Philippine politics was influenced by these murky groups before their methods could so easily be laid out for all to see online?

Robredo says she is not involved

The Vice-President herself has distanced herself from the growing hubbub, saying, “I am sure that I did not take part on any plot to oust Duterte, if there is indeed such a plot. First of all, I am being accused of joining rallies against him. That is not true. The president was misinformed on that.”

She adds, “For me, I criticise the president so he can hear us out on issues we feel strongly about, like extrajudicial killings. But my criticisms are not tantamount to calling for his ouster.” But is that true, is the Liberal Party, and its rich friends overseas, plotting to remove the President?

Senator and Liberal Party President Francis Pangilinan denies such an allegation saying support for the so-called yellows is weakening, “The alleged plot is untrue. There is no such plot. In fact, the bulk of the so-called ‘yellows’ have abandoned the [Liberal Party] ship and are now card-carrying members of other parties and aligned with Malacañang [the presidential office].”

“Campaigns” like this are highly damaging for public trust and support

However, whether the plans by the group were “official” or not the scandal shines a light on the dark face of modern politics. Where conspirators may once have met in dark rooms, they now huddle in dark corners of the web. And the interests of the people can no longer be considered safe in the fourth estate of the press, now bloggers and netizens are those with the determination to speak out.
Robredo’s reputation has to be damaged by this. But so is the reputation of the political system as a whole. And perhaps the media more than most. One influential national columnist has defended his name being on the distribution list for the group’s messages by saying, yes, he received them, but he never read them. So is the mainstream media silent? Or just absent? In our digital world, nothing can be hidden for long. The truth finds a way. 

http://www.aseantoday.com/

On 17:08:00

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