Bogus social media accounts threaten PH democracy, lawmakers warn

MANILA – The spread of disinformation through fake pro-Duterte social media accounts poses a serious threat to Philippine democracy ahead of the 2025 midterm elections, House of Representatives leaders warned on Sunday.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga sounded the alarm following a Reuters report revealing that nearly one-third of X accounts discussing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s potential arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) were fake.

The report, based on research by disinformation watchdog Cyabra, also found that up to 45 percent of online conversations about the upcoming elections are driven by bots, sock puppets, avatars and paid influencers.

“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.

He warned that the use of disinformation to mislead voters is one of the most dangerous threats to the country’s democratic system.

“Fake praise, fake news, fake accounts — this is how the battle is being waged. And the most dangerous part is, ordinary people may not even realize they’re being influenced,” Suarez said.

He urged platforms like Meta, X, and YouTube to swiftly detect and remove coordinated fake accounts, saying they have both the tools and the responsibility to do so.

“They have the resources and the algorithms to detect inauthentic behavior. They can’t just turn a blind eye while democracy is under attack,” he added.

Gonzales, for his part, warned that the growing sophistication of digital deception poses a serious threat to the integrity of the country’s electoral process.

“We must defend the Filipino people not just from guns and goons, but from ghost accounts flooding their social media feeds with propaganda and deception,” Gonzales said.

“When bots, trolls, and fake profiles can reach millions of Filipinos and alter the truth with just a few clicks, democracy itself is under attack,” he added.

To combat the threat, Gonzales called for a national digital literacy campaign, led by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

The program, he said, should focus on helping both students and the general public spot and resist online manipulation.

“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.

Gonzales challenged political parties to categorically reject the use of digital “click armies” and paid online 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.” — Filane Mikee Cervantes (PNA)