Masungi: Philippine reserve targeted by online smear campaign

A BBC exploration has revealed that a top-tier climate activist and film star has been targeted for a deliberate disinformation attack on social media as it fights to keep its function.

A system of nearly 100 false Facebook pages and accounts was discovered to be making up stories about the Masungi Georeserve and its maintainers. Most were taken down after the BBC asked Meta, Facebook’s family firm, about these accounts.

The supply is under stress from improper recorders, area grabrs, and quarrying firms despite gaining global recognition for its reforestation efforts in the fight against climate change.

A spokeswoman for the supply said it was being “ganged up on” by local officials, businesses and some authorities in state. The culture ministry, which has proposed ending a reforesting deal with the supply, denied the state.

Although it is unknown who controlled the channel, data obtained by the BBC suggests that a public relations professional who claims to have experience in “reputation administration” was linked to pages linked to the strategy.

Located south of Manila, the Masungi supply is a popular eco-tourism place, known for its beautiful rainforest and gravity-defying marble structures. Hollywood’s Leonardo DiCaprio and climate activist Greta Thunberg are among the stars who support the film.

The supply has been attempting to stop illegal business activity for years, but it is believed that this particular smear campaign started in recent months.

” We’ve seen misleading information, trying to manufacture protest against function that we do as atmosphere supporters”, says Billie Dumaliang from the Masungi Georeserve Foundation.

These online threats have come out in the face of real abuse directed at people who work in the Philippines to protect the environment.

Two forest rangers who work for the Masungi Georeserve were shot and wounded in 2021. And campaigning group Global Witness says the Philippines ranks as the most dangerous place in Asia for environmental defenders, with 298 people killed since 2012.

According to Regine Cabato, a Filipino columnist with experience covering propaganda, “online advertising can be quite important in creating a dread factor for the people who work in Masungi.”

A style of fake accounts and sites that appear to be working along as part of the smear campaign was discovered by BBC Verify as they conducted their investigation into this propaganda.

Cautious features included page photos showing K-pop stars, animals and models, rather than actual people. Many of these records had some friends and were created shortly after each other.

They posted information that was critical of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation, but it was the information that stood out most.

” Instantly the users are making a lot of money”, posted one person, questioning the Masungi Georeserve’s full function.

The people own this guarded place, according to the statement. Do n’t be arrogant”! authored another letter, along with a picture that urges the reserve to” stop masquerading as a character savior.”

” This is something we’ve seen sing out during votes against certain political priorities, and sometimes it’s something we’ve even seen deployed against secret people”, says Ms Cabato.

” The tires of this system are turned by a lot of energy and a lot of money,” says one author.

The campaign appears to have begun this year, about the same time as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( DENR ) proposed revoke the 2017 agreement that gave the Masungi Georeserve Foundation control over the vast majority of the land it owns for reforestation purposes.

Nadine Lustre, Greta Thunberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio, the actress and singer from the Philippines, were among the foreign stars who criticized the move, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Greta Thunberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who posted a message to the president to “protect Masungi.”

When news organizations posted on Instagram about famous calls to” #SaveMasungi,” their posts attracted the attention of the small army of bogus accounts the BBC had identified.

Under those content, they left responses defending the atmosphere district’s proposal and attacking celebrities like DiCaprio over their treatment.

” Do n’t be a loser Leonardo”, wrote one user.

” The DENR saw dubious behaviour a long time ago”, posted another.

In contrast, several of these records went on to share content from the DENR’s individual social media accounts, or from sites supportive of the agency’s work.

The DENR claims to have no connections to these websites and transactions.

But the ministry plays a dual role in the Philippines, which critics say is conflicting: it issues mining and quarrying mandates, while also employing thousands of forest soldiers to guard the Sierra Madre, the country’s longest hill range.

Podcast: An (online ) storm in a Philippine rainforest

The BBC inquired about the accounts that appeared to be running as an organized network, and Meta was able to confirm that a group of accounts was engaging in unauthentic behavior.

According to the BBC investigation, it removed the majority of the accounts and pages, saying they “engaged in deceptive, spammy activity, including using fake accounts to make it appear more popular than it was.”

However, it failed to connect this network to any outsider.

According to Ms. Dumaliang from the Masungi Geoserve Foundation,” It seems like we’re being ganged up on by local politicians, some people from the DENR, and their cohorts in these destructive industries.”

This claim is refuted by the environment department.

In a statement, the DENR told the BBC it had” no involvement in any social media campaign, activity, or other online tactics aimed at influencing public opinion in a negative manner”. It also described its communication efforts as transparent, accurate and fair.

The BBC discovered evidence linking one person to the campaign, despite the fact that we do not know who ultimately held control over the network of accounts and pages.

On social media, Ben Pablo described himself as a public relations consultant who specialised in “reputation management” and” social media marketing”.

But he placed ads on behalf of pages that were part of the campaign, according to Meta’s ad library, which lists all adverts placed on Facebook.

Mr. Pablo refused to respond to the BBC’s numerous requests for comment.

However, several of the pages we believe he was linked to have been deleted since we first approached him, along with Mr. Pablo’s own social media accounts.

In recent months, Mr Pablo has also bought Facebook adverts promoting Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Although there is no evidence linking her to this campaign, the BBC asked the senator’s team whether she had ever employed Mr Pablo, but did not get a response. It’s unclear whether Mr. Pablo was acting by himself.

Billie Dumaliang appears unafraid despite the effects that online misinformation might have on Masungi’s lives.

” Every time we see the landscape, the sunset unobstructed, we are reminded of the reason why we’re doing this: it is to preserve this special place”.