Local Study

Less than a year before the 2022 presidential elections in the Philippines, problems with social

media platforms have only gotten worse. They included fake accounts, hate speech, and

disinformation. The gaps in the platforms’ policies continue to threaten the electoral process, as

harmful content and falsehoods are expected to increase during election season .Tech platforms

vowed to help secure the integrity of the Philippine elections, but to date their actual plans are not

known and have yet to be scrutinized. This is crucial as the country witnessed firsthand the

weaponization of social media starting in 2016.Facebook and Twitter said they would provide

more information as election day nears, despite politicians starting campaigns as early as now, a

year before the E-Day. A year before the 2022 presidential election in the Philippines, the most

popular social media platforms continue to pose threats to the integrity of the polls. Policies by

Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube don’t provide answers to how they will address the

issues of disinformation, political advertisements, data breach, and hate speech in an increasingly

toxic environment. (READ: Propaganda war: Weaponizing the internet) Social media was a key

factor in Rodrigo Duterte’s victory in 2016, and his troll armies and fake news machinations have

only worsened until now.Facebook has long struggled to fight disinformation on its platform, even

as it partnered with independent, third-party fact-checking organizations, including Rappler and

Vera Files in the Philippines.

A parallel election battle is happening online in the Philippines, with campaign teams utilising

social media like Twitter and Facebook to win more supporters or launch attacks on rivals, hoping

to make their hashtags trend.As with the 2016 polls that catapulted Duterte to the presidency, social

media will be crucial in the election buildup, while platforms will be under pressure to combat the

rampant misinformation that has intensified in the Philippines, driving hate campaigns and
deepening social divisions.The #KulayRosasAngBukas (The future is color pink) is among the top

trending hashtags in the Philippines, appearing in 269,000 tweets supportive of Vice President

Leni Robredo, whose team's colour is pink.Robredo narrowly beat Marcos in the 2016 vice

presidential contest but trails him in polls for the top job.She promised her supporters honest,

caring government."I am not afraid. I am not anxious because when I called on you to awaken

your sleeping strength, you firmly heeded my call," Robredo told a cheering crowd.Roughly 67.5

million Filipinos are eligible to vote, including 1.7 million overseas, in an election for a president,

vice president, about 300 lawmakers and roughly 18,000 local government positions.

Apart from Marcos, and Robredo, others vying for the presidency include Manila mayor Francisco

Domagoso, Senator Panfilo Lacson and retired boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who is

promising to tackle graft.”If I become president, you will see all corrupt government officials,

whether appointed, elected, big or small, with popular names, in jail," Pacquiao told his

supporters.Facebook has shut down multiple fake accounts, including the network of Duterte’s

social media campaign manager Nic Gabunada.Studies have found that lies travel faster than the

truth. By the time a falsehood is debunked, it has already reached thousands of people.Social Media

like Facebook’s fact-checking program also focuses on publicly available posts, which means it

does not cover information spread via Facebook Messenger, the top messaging platform in the

country. By using social media , the campaign strategies is not the only factor that will determine

the election results. Surveys remain influential particularly for the undecided voters who may rely

on results of pre-election polls and succumb to the bandwagon effect.Social media has

dramatically changed the dynamics of elections in the Philippines,Social media has dramatically

changed the dynamics of elections in the Philippines,Social media has dramatically changed the

dynamics of elections in the Philippines,

Conceptual Framework

The framework provides some useful tips for people’s movement organizing for the 2022

presidential election.Individuals and groups at the grassroots level are more likely to be successful

when they are integrated and connected through the relationships between movement causes and

movement members.

With elections, we can hold leaders and governments accountable, although with mixed

success.Facebook also exempts politicians’ and candidates’ posts from being fact-checked.

Rappler looks into the gaps in the policies of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube

and how these pose problems in the upcoming elections.

Why has social media affected political campaigns? It is usually a quick and effective form of

mass communication. It is always a free way for politicians to advertise. It is often not an effective

way for citizens to criticize policy ideas. Political parties nominate candidates during elections and

guarantee their victory. Winning elections means taking power in government. The general intent

of this study is to know the impact of social media platforms to the upcoming 2022 Philippine

Presidential Elections, with that 30 Grade 12 students of Don Ramon E. Costales Memorial

National High-School are going to be used as a sample in conducting the survey.

This study will limit its coverage on the Grade 12 students of Don Ramon E. Costales Memorial

National High-School S.Y (2021-2022) residing in Villasis, Pangasinan.Successful candidates

must both persuade voters that they deserve their individual votes and garner the critical votes of

electors. Persuading voters is the essence of a political campaign. This study will mainly identify

and assess different factors that may affect the students’ votes. Successful candidates must both
persuade voters that they deserve their individual votes and garner the critical votes of electors.

Persuading voters is the essence of a political a platform.

FIGURE 1: RESEARCH PARADIGM

 INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

SOCIAL MEDIA 1.) Know the This study will mainly

(such as impact of
Facebook) identify and assess different
social media
ELECTIONS platforms to
factors that may affect the
the upcoming
2022 2022
students’ votes. Successful
CAMPAIGN Philippine
Presidential candidates must both
Elections,
with that 30 persuade voters that they
Grade 12
students of deserve their individual
Don Ramon
E. Costales votes and garner the critical
Memorial
National votes of electors. Persuading
High-School.
voters is the essence of a
2.) To know the
limits political campaign.
coverage on
the Grade 12
students of
Don Ramon
E. Costales
Memorial
National
High-School
S.Y (2021-
2022)
residing in
Villasis,
Pangasinan.