How far can one go in expressing his thoughts? Are there limits? Are there restrictions? If everyone is entitled to the right to free speech, then when does one know when to stop?
During the election period in the Philippines, social media has played a vital role in providing information and delivering content that “mainstream” media has failed to produce. Political analysts, bloggers, and ordinary netizens have used this as a platform to take part in discussions involving political matters. We have Mocha Uson, Sass Rogando Sasot, Dr. Antonio Contreras, Krizette Laureta Chu, and the mind behind Thinking Pinoy as examples. They are some of the most prominent social media icons who bravely voice out their thoughts and ruthlessly criticize individuals who go against their beliefs. What makes them different from ordinary individuals who post their sentiments online is the huge amount of followers on their Facebook page ranging from 22,000 to 4,000,000.
With the social media war that is currently going on, many people have already given up believing that there is nothing else they could do to stop misinformed netizens from posting their nonsensical arguments and wreaking havoc on the world wide web. But fortunately, there are still a handful of brave souls who take the time and effort to go on a battle against the aforementioned fanatics with their most powerful weapons— intellect and logical opinion. This, for them, is what Mocha, the breakthrough blogger, lacks.
Mocha Uson, a well-known DDS (Duterte Defense Squad) member, has a great number of supporters and an equally huge amount of bashers (including yours truly). She has recently been the talk of the town because of a petition filed by Paul Quilet, a forthright critic of President Duterte’s supporters, to silence her by putting her page down. According to him, Mocha’s blog spreads “fictitious/unsupported claims, fake news, and false information about pressing issues in the Philippines”. And instead of uniting Filipinos to fight the real battle— corruption, drug addiction and violence— “the said Facebook page widens the rift between those who support the current administration and those who are critical of it”. As of writing, the petition filed on Change.org has 33,125 supporters already. However, fans of the said celebrity blogger chose not to back down. A certain Cheryl Anne called for a counter-petition and it currently has a little over 20,000 signatures. Apparently, fanatics and even non-supporters were appalled at the thought of curtailing someone’s freedom of speech.
But who is at fault, really? The woman who wants to reach out to Filipinos especially those whom she usually calls “simpleng taong bayan” or the man who wants to prevent her from misinforming more readers? Blind followers would definitely say it's "bugok na Paul” who is "dilawan" and "bayaran". But those who are against false idolatry would of course go for the former— the muse of the defense squad.
In this day and age, everyone can easily broadcast their thoughts through various communication platforms. We have the television, radio, newspaper, magazine, books, and the most widely-used medium— the internet. Because of the latter, we now have the privilege to share whatever we have in mind and possibly influence those within our reach to support our ideas. It is empowering and frightening at the same time because through that, we can effortlessly sway netizens to believe our online posts immediately.
This is what Mocha’s critics are concerned about right now. With her four million (and still growing) followers, she can promulgate her opinions and make them seem like facts. There is actually no issue with her standpoints being published on her blog because she owns that and she has all the means and rights to share her thoughts. The problem, however, lies with the way she weaves words together, allegedly spreads false information with articles that have no factual basis, and unintentionally engages her readers in an unprofessional discourse that leads to the building of despise among her followers. It is alarming to see how fast this culture of humiliating, hate, and constant social media war spreads. We have all seen how low Mocha’s die-hard fans can go by threatening, smart-shaming, and cursing Duterte’s critics. All these things prompted concerned individuals to take part in the said issue. Several articles regarding that matter have already been posted online and brave souls are actually taking a stand by sharing their arguments and answering extremists patiently and with formality. If this continues, then hopefully, people filled with single-minded zeal will be more informed, discerning, and fit for logical exchange of ideas. Trying to shush DDS members and Mocha is not as easy as pouring bad coffee down the drain especially now that this celebrity-turned-blogger can easily brainwash her readers and manipulate them through her words. It will take more than an ounce of patience, a mountain-pile of books and factual sources, and tons of intellectual explanations before the aforementioned fanatics can have an open mind and realize that being a supporter does not necessarily require one to be a blind follower (contrary to what their muse is instilling in their minds). But making smalls steps is better than not making any step at all. Use your right to free speech wisely by encouraging healthy conversations, creating well-researched posts, and giving opinions with logical arguments. So the next time you give your two cents on matters like this one, don’t do it the Mocha-way; do it the right way.
*The author does not claim the title "#WagKangFanatic" as her own idea. The concept has been taken from the account of the Superficial Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
This is what Mocha’s critics are concerned about right now. With her four million (and still growing) followers, she can promulgate her opinions and make them seem like facts. There is actually no issue with her standpoints being published on her blog because she owns that and she has all the means and rights to share her thoughts. The problem, however, lies with the way she weaves words together, allegedly spreads false information with articles that have no factual basis, and unintentionally engages her readers in an unprofessional discourse that leads to the building of despise among her followers. It is alarming to see how fast this culture of humiliating, hate, and constant social media war spreads. We have all seen how low Mocha’s die-hard fans can go by threatening, smart-shaming, and cursing Duterte’s critics. All these things prompted concerned individuals to take part in the said issue. Several articles regarding that matter have already been posted online and brave souls are actually taking a stand by sharing their arguments and answering extremists patiently and with formality. If this continues, then hopefully, people filled with single-minded zeal will be more informed, discerning, and fit for logical exchange of ideas. Trying to shush DDS members and Mocha is not as easy as pouring bad coffee down the drain especially now that this celebrity-turned-blogger can easily brainwash her readers and manipulate them through her words. It will take more than an ounce of patience, a mountain-pile of books and factual sources, and tons of intellectual explanations before the aforementioned fanatics can have an open mind and realize that being a supporter does not necessarily require one to be a blind follower (contrary to what their muse is instilling in their minds). But making smalls steps is better than not making any step at all. Use your right to free speech wisely by encouraging healthy conversations, creating well-researched posts, and giving opinions with logical arguments. So the next time you give your two cents on matters like this one, don’t do it the Mocha-way; do it the right way.
*The author does not claim the title "#WagKangFanatic" as her own idea. The concept has been taken from the account of the Superficial Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
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