[EDITORIAL] Ang umano’y AC-DC raket ni Franco Mabanta

Umusok ang social media sa mga balitang arestado ang social media operator na si Franco Mabanta dahil sa umano’y tangkang extortion kay dating House speaker Martin Romualdez. 

Bago tayo pumalaot, ilang pagtutuwid ng mga termino: Una, hindi miyembro ng legitimate, credible media si Mabanta at ang outfit niyang Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN). May resolution na naka-file ngayon sa House of Representatives na imbestigahan ang disinformation operations ng PGMN. 

This, friends, is what a hijacked media looks like. It’s pretend journalism via a business model that contradicts the very foundations of journalism: increasing reach and engagement via viral, unverified stories and propaganda.

Pangalawa, sabi nga ni Rappler Senior Multimedia Producer JC Gotinga sa isang post, “pretentious” ang pagtawag ng PGMN people sa sarili na “anchors.” “The anchor provides the narrative spine that connects the otherwise disjointed individual reports,” sabi ni Gotinga. Pero wala silang reporters, wala silang system ng verification, at ang “balita” nila ay hindi balita kundi intriga at malisya. 

Pangatlo. Puleeze ‘wag na rin patulan ang tawag niya sa sariling ”social media strategist” in the tradition of PR strategist Reli German or political strategist Serge Osmeña. Yes, disinformation operations is sort of an attrition strategy, but if you look at his debauched career, pure and simple purveyor ito ng slander and misogyny, far-right, ultramasculine tropes. (Rappler opinion columnist Earl Parreño discusses his anti-women attacks in this article.) And it seems, this was his road to (alleged) extortion.

People like Mabanta are what the techbros of social media empowered. Ito ay enabled ng disenyong nagpa-prioritize sa engagement at profit sa halip na facts. This is algorithmic bias that rewards emotionally charged content, particularly anger and hate.

Matapos i-demonize ang media, he calls himself “media” sa pagtatayo ng PGMN gamit ang perang kinita sa reputation laundering ng politicians at businessmen. 

The former theater wannabe and former manager of singing group Akafellas knew how to weave fantasy into reality. Who cared if he peddled lies? In this perverted information ecosystem, lies spread faster than truth. 

At ‘yan ang bumuhay kay Mabanta at mga katulad niya. It’s a MAGA playbook (Donald Trump’s right-wing movement Make America Great Again), that actually learned the ropes from the Philippines — the first petri dish of disinformation.

At ngayon, may kapal ng mukha si Mabanta na mag-invoke ng press freedom o kalayaang mamahayag?

Let’s tell it like it is.  He who broke the laws of decency, transparency and accountability — and used proximity to an abusive power as leverage — cannot invoke them now that he’s cornered.

He who pushed for the shutdown of newsrooms and attacked journalists cannot now seek refuge in the Constitution that precisely protects newsrooms and journalists.

There’s karma and there’s consequence, sabi nga ni Parreño. If you analyze it further — it’s just plain hubris and recklessness. Akala ba ni Mabanta wala nang kapangyarihan si dating House speaker Martin Romualdez? Akala ba niya hindi bibigyan ng lifeline ng Malacañang ang pinsan na alam ang lahat ng pieces of the puzzle? Now, Mabanta has only managed to make Romualdez look good and proper.

May tawag sa operasyon ni Mabanta among media circles: AC-DC. Attack-collect, defend-collect. Araw-araw titirahin (mostly sa radyo), then ‘pag nagpadala ng pera si politiko, idedepensa. Kayang-kaya ng forked tongue ng radio commentator. Lumang raket ‘yan na tila hindi mamatay-matay at mahalagang pag-aralan sa konteksto ng media corruption in the Philippines. 

Akala ba ni Mabanta kaya niya ang level ng isa pang AC-DC radio commentator sa kasagsagan ng career nito sa isang top network? For one, that one has a bagman, at cautious enough na hindi umapir sa (alleged) pay-off site. Hmm, hindi naman siya excited sa alleged pay-off, ‘no?

Pero lima singko ang mga Mabanta. The old propaganda networks that Rappler exposed in the Duterte campaign have morphed into kingdoms enabled by a polarized, fractured environment. 

Nagsulputan na parang kabute ang mga pseudonymed Facebook pages that pontificate via elegant prose na bentang-benta sa unsuspecting users.

Ang hamon sa publiko ay ito: tigilan ang pagtangkilik at pag-share ng pages na gumagamit ng false identities. Do one basic act of citizenship by reading and sharing verified content from newsrooms. 

Narito ang painstaking investigative work ng Rappler sa properties ni Martin Romualdez. This is what real investigative journalism looks like:

• Multi-million-euro Spain property links to Romualdez
• Martin Romualdez associate buys Forbes Park house for P1.67 billion
• Leyte properties linked to Martin Romualdez: The Tropics Hotel
• Leyte properties linked to Martin Romualdez: Tacloban Golf and Country Club

We are what we eat, what we consume, what we read. Simulan na nating i-detox ang lason mula sa ating kamalayan at information ecosystem. – Rappler.com