Reclaiming social media from trolls

By Michael Henry Yusingco, LL.M

It is very difficult not to characterize social media today as a cesspool of hate and vitriol.

Politicians and their rabid followers are usually the ones that flood the space with garbage. But lately, respectable influencers and serious pundits have joined the game with gusto. An epidemic of Main Character Syndrome seems to be wreaking havoc in our digital ecosystem. And no one cares that it is becoming a toilet bowl. Social media’s power to trigger meaningful change is slowly being devalued.

Admittedly, social media was never designed for discourse. As a digital platform, it simply cannot sustain that give-and-take dynamic necessary for genuine deliberation. It is, however, an effective bull horn to promote views, events, products, etc. It is a cost-efficient tool for fast and amplified communication. Pertinently, a subfunction of social media is being a direct personal line to the powers-that-be, given that most politicians these days have a dedicated unit to monitor social media.

For Filipino politicians this method is definitely SOP because a large majority of the electorate spends a lot of time on it. Their aim is primarily to measure the public pulse on issues of the day. But elected officials also use social media to gauge how they are viewed by voters. And since their staff regularly trawl all social media platforms, they have in a way created an online feedback mechanism.

For instance, the viral videos skewering so-called “nepo babies”—children of government officials and contractors flaunting lavish lifestyles while citizens wade through floodwaters. It is tempting to dismiss the trend as petty mockery. But they played a deeper political role in unraveling the pork barrel cartel. The interview of the Discaya couple also triggered a social media tsunami that eventually brought down the “congtractors” syndicate.

These events demonstrate how public officials make political calculations as a reaction to public rage expressed creatively online. It was evident that the concerned officials felt threatened by the fury conveyed on social media. These were regular people venting their wrath in the most readily available medium, which then transformed disparate rants into one loud protest call.

Pertinently, public officials were moved only because what they saw on social media was an organic and authentic display of pure rage. The administration had to act to prevent these raw emotions from boiling over to the physical world. Had the posts been inauthentic, then they would have easily been dismissed as a mere disinformation campaign by political opponents.  The very same unit dedicated to monitoring social media is also tasked with countering troll activities.

Netizens must remember that posting like a troll means being treated like one. Ignored or blocked for good. Shitposting may get some likes and retweets, but these engagements will most likely be contained within the echo chamber. It may also lead to bardagulan and bangayan with other trolls, which can amplify popularity but undercut credibility. In the end, shitposting just contributes to the pollution on social media. It does not open the minds of other users, including public officials.

But posting views on social media with due regard to the online audience will likely be treated as organic and authentic. Likeminded users will surely find such a post and a genuine community can be forged from these encounters. The collective sentiment can then snowball into a trending story that will soon reach the ears of those concerned. If the post was something about politics and governance, then politicians and public officials will surely hear about it.

The “platformization” of daily life is well underway. Digital platforms, most especially social media, shape how people behave as consumers, voters, citizens, and as human beings. They have become the central interface for accessing services, information, and engaging in various activities. Netizens simply cannot allow trolls to continue corrupting and desolating cyberspace. Indeed, keeping it safe from pollutants and other poisons must now be treated as a civic duty.