“No to negative campaigning.”

“Len Len Loser.”

“Nauto ka na ba ng mga nagmamalinis?”

The campaign season of the Philippines for 2022 elections is undeniably eventful. From grand rally turnouts, to social media campaigning, debates refused and debates accepted, to the horror of the voter turnout and election results on May 9, 2022. It is an undisputed facts that social media platforms contributed a big deal to the result of the elections.

As supporters of Presidential candidate Leni Robredo, it is often heard, “nasa lansangan ang tunay na laban,” but while we focus on filling streets and coloring stadiums pink, the Philippine’s supposed common enemy, Bongbong Marcos, played the game online by rebranding their family name and spreading disinformation. Of course, this did not happen overnight. Profit decides which content gets published online (Croteau & Hoynes, 2019). The political and economic environment determines what kind of work content producers release. Moreover, the characteristics of media organization evolve in consonance to the changes in the environment both financial and technological (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). It is then wise to switch the game to the online realm if one is to influence user opinion.

Vincentiments, an online video production company, became a court player for presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos. Not only did Vincentiments produce content to endorse the said candidate, they also released short films to negatively campaign for presidential aspirant Leni Robredo. The campaign through disguised short films also included false information about Leni Robredo. The rising concerns about trolling and the proliferation of fake news online, have prompted Meta Platforms Inc. to take down hundreds of Facebook pages and accounts. In its statement last April 7, the social media giant said it has suspended over 400 accounts, pages, and groups, as part of its ongoing crackdown on hate speech and misinformation ahead of the May 9, 2022 elections (JECC, 2022). Included in the take down of trolling accounts is Vincentiment’s facebook page. Moreover, Facebook warns social media users of liking the page of Vincentiments managed by controversial director Darryl Yap. Facebook said the page, which has over five million followers and two million likes, has “shared posts that violate our Community standards.” (Inquirer, 2022).

The case of Vincentiments reflects how profit stages what content is released in the media. Imagine this: with a following of five million people, how many of these has been swayed by false information?

The drastic shift from print media like newspapers and magazines to the daily use of social media has shaped the social sphere that we now move within. Croteau & Hoynes (2019) believed that social media giants have consolidated and concentrated within their level the kind of content that is posted online. Facebook is an example of a media giant on the internet. To date, Facebook houses 2.936 Billion users, with 1.960 Billion people who use the application every day. This amount of exposure to one media giant indeed homogenizes the way we think, act, and behave in the social environment.

The growing number of people engaging in Facebook is due to the personalized algorithm which increases time commitment of users (Croteau & Hoynes, 2019). Moreover, with regards to media content, consumption grows because Facebook is people-friendly and mobile friendly. In a country like the Philippines, people rely on mobile data and even free data, in the absence of decent WiFi connectivity. In several Android operating softwares, especially in mobile phones, Facebook contents can be reloaded in the website by using only free data. Additionally, contents in facebook often consist of relatable short videos, provocative photos, photos from celebrities, sensationalized headlines, and click-bait titles or even thumbnails (Croteau & Hoynes). With the abundance of media even just in one application like facebook, people ought to stay in one social media site and thus, adapt the persistent ideology commonly posted on it.