TWELVE senators on Monday have filed a resolution to probe the alleged troll farms allegedly funded by the Philippine government.
The senators have signed a resolution calling for an investigation into potential government spending on “troll farms”, or networks that spread disinformation and misinformation.
The resolution was also based on Senator Ping Lacson’s accusations that a certain government undersecretary is organizing troll farms ahead of the 2022 elections.
Lacson previously said that his source told him the official was putting up two “farms” per province.
The senators’ resolution also noted the awarding of P909,122 contract by the Department of Finance to Nic Gabunada, a communication strategist, who was linked by Facebook for managing accounts with ‘inauthentic behavior’.
“Filipinos should know why government spends public funds on troll farm operators disguised as ‘public relations practitioners’ and ‘social media consultants’ who sow fake news rather than on COVID-19 assistance, healthcare, food security, jobs protection, education, among others,” Senate Resolution No. 768 said.
“The Duterte administration even appointed some of these bloggers and social media personalities to high positions in various departments and agencies in government,” the resolution stated.
“The above instances illustrate that troll farms and the misinformation and fake news that they propagate may be state-backed and state-funded. In this connection, Congress should look into government funds that are used to fund misinformation and fake news that affect millions of Filipinos,” the resolution added.
