Philippines Warns of Foreign-Backed Troll Farms Ahead of 2028 Polls

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Tuesday warned of foreign-backed troll farms using social media pages as platforms to disseminate misinformation and disinformation on key issues affecting the country, notably the West Philippine Sea (WPS) dispute. CICC Executive Director Renato “Aboy” A. Paraiso made the statement in response to a question on whether the center is monitoring reports of Facebook pages being repurposed for use by troll farms as the 2028 elections draw near. Mr. Paraiso said the agency is taking an active role in the detection and network mapping of platforms used in the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation. He said their findings show that the perpetrators and financiers behind these platforms or pages usually come from other countries with interests in Philippine politics. “So they try to influence the narrative and the way people would view certain issues,” Mr. Paraiso said in an interview during the BusinessWorld Cybersecurity Summit. “The most famous one is the West Philippine Sea. So it’s clear local politics and now it’s turning into geopolitics,” he added. The CICC chief also raised concerns that some Filipinos are allowing themselves to propagate the narratives promoted by these pages. “What is sad is Filipinos allowing these narratives to propagate, just because it’s being fed to them by the algorithm of social media,” he said. Mr. Paraiso said similar pages are expected to proliferate further as the 2028 presidential election approaches, potentially being used to influence Filipino voters. In response to troll farms, Mr. Paraiso said he supports the passage of House Bill No. 9465, or the proposed Digital Media Anti-False Information Act, which seeks to fill legal gaps in holding accountable individuals who knowingly finance, direct, or materially assist organized disinformation campaigns that threaten public safety or national security. “For sure (I support). Not only that, but also jurisdiction over social media platforms and messaging platforms. That’s an important piece of legislation that we need to have right now,” Mr. Paraiso said. The bill, which is among the priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), passed third and final reading in the House of Representatives in June. — Edg Adrian A. Eva