Sharon and I constant victims of fake news, trolling —Kiko

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said he and his wife, Megastar Sharon Cuneta, have frequently been the target of fake news and trolls.

In an episode of The Mangahas Interviews on Wednesday, Pangilinan added that the constant trolling and bashing of President Rodrigo Duterte's critics continued even after the elections.

"Si Sharon, ako, pinutakte ng fake news ng paninirang puri dahil hindi nagsusunud-sunuran. Kasama yan sa overall political atmosphere ngayon. Mayroong halong takot, mayroong malawakang paglilinlang at fake news," he told investigative journalist Malou Mangahas.

(We were constant victims of fake news because we were part of the opposition. That is also evident in the overall political atmosphere. There is fear and disinformation and fake news.)

He also lamented that even during COVID-19, just when the lockdown started in 2020, Pangilinan found fake news about himself. Some would even use official seals of media and government to proliferate false news about him.

Troll farms in 2019 polls

Pangilinan said there is danger in the influence of troll farms as the public "may be swayed by the disinformation."

He said that in 2019, the University of the Philippines' College of Mass Communication conducted a study on trolling and fake news during the 2019 polls.

The study showed that the trolls were attacking the Otso Diretso opposition senatorial slate, the senator, who is also president of Liberal Party, said.

"Sa opposition, ang pinakatinira ng paninira ay si Senator Bam Aquino at Mar Roxas," he said.

[Bam Aquino and Mar Roxas were attacked the most.]

After the elections, Aquino told Pangilinan that he stopped getting comments from trolls in his posts online.

"So talagang ginastusan, pinondohan. [So someone really spent money on these trolls and funded them]," he said.

He also said troll farm organizers should instead fund rice farms, and poultry instead of online users.

Senator Panfilo Lacson previously said an undersecretary is making troll farms to attack critics and possible candidates in the 2022 elections. — Consuelo Marquez/BM, GMA News