Writing in Rappler, Juju Z Baluyot says, “The Media Is Struggling. Are Trolls Winning The Info War[1]?” (12 July 2021, Rappler.com). There are 3 wrongs there, let me count the ways:
One: The media was the one that started “The Info War.”
Two: The media is struggling in The Wrong War.
Three: Also short-sighted to look at it as “The Truth War.”
You want to bring someone down by your Truth Journalism? That is a legitimate exercise. But do not complain if that someone tries to bring you down first! Tit for tat is bad as part of waging The Media Class Struggle.
Mr Baluyot writes about trolls and their business of countering, or counter-attacking, bad news, whomsoever it is referred to. There is plenty of bad news, which makes for plenty of business for trolls – Mr Baluyot reports one troll manager making P210,000 at any one time!
Mr Baluyot insinuates how trolls are hired and paid. He writes:
On Friday, July 9, Presidential Communications Operations Office Undersecretary Kris Ablan responded to the Commission on Audit's flagging of their hiring of more than 370 contractual workers last year, which cost them a whopping P70.6 million. These questioned contractual workers, according to Ablan, are videographers, editors, directors, and social media specialists who "upload our socmed cards, our infographics explaining our programs.”
What are the trolls doing? One example, Mr Baluyot says: “Duterte’s troll armies drown out Covid-19 dissent in the Philippines.” My question: Why does it have to be dissent?
More to the point:
Yes, as absurd as it sounds, there is a thriving economy in spreading spurious news and false information, in corrupting the public’s knowledge and opinions to achieve a desired political outcome..
Mr Baluyot blames politicians and their trolls for the currently bad business of media – if it were a wound, he does not see the wound as self-inflicted.
Hence, the wrong Media Class Struggle continues! Here as well as abroad, media people have not seen the best single social role that media can play in the life of a society:
Media should be A Force For Good!
(“A Force For Good” image[2] from EWTN.com)
And this is how to carry out the Media Class Struggle – through what I call iTHINK Journalism. Ta-da!
i for investigations. First, investigate if
True. Then investigate if
Helpful. Then investigate if
Inspiring. Then investigate if
Necessary. Then investigate if
Kind. THiNK!
Then, by all means, spread the news!
The target should be any sectoral growth based on a national development agenda. If not, it is all selfish agenda. (Learn from my “PH Agriculture – Change Is Coming! But We Must All Be Heroes[3]!” 10 July 2021, Brave New World PH.)
“The Info War” is the cross-eyed way of describing journalists’ struggles against trolls. The journalists themselves are to blame – journalism is not the art of bringing a person down but bringing a society up! Construction rather than Destruction. If journalists do not appreciate that, they are going to destroy themselves!@517
[1]https://www.rappler.com/voices/ispeak/opinion-media-struggling-trolls-winning-info-war?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0VOJhwBQuQSPs8nPew6mS9WCmi5e46ZKL7HXCwR1CybXe__JRGapbxz2I#Echobox=1626067799-1
[2]https://www.ewtn.com/tv/shows/force-for-good
[3]https://bravenewworldph.blogspot.com/2021/07/ph-agriculture-change-is-coming-but-we.html
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