Driven by profit, big social media firms have taken advantage of how users share their information, including their political ideologies, opinions, and policy viewpoints. But as IT technologies evolved, many have noted their potential for political mobilisation. While it remains doubtful that a candidate can win the presidency through a successful social media strategy alone, there is a realisation that this type of technology is becoming an indispensable part of the contemporary electoral “political machine”.Įxperts argue that social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc., were not intended for political purposes at the outset. Reliance on social media in the campaign strategy of candidates is expected to rise given the increased usage by Filipinos of this technology, and the physical restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, to say that Duterte’s victory was solely because of his savvy social media strategy exaggerates the power of virtual manipulation during that time and ignores the symbiotic relationship between online fervour and grassroots political mobilisation. Scholars of Philippine politics attributed the victory to the Duterte campaign’s savvy use of social media to the point of spreading fake news. In that election, Rodrigo Duterte swept into office with the help of what appeared to be an “army” of dedicated social media followers. The 2016 presidential contest was already widely considered as the first mainstream “social media election” in the Philippines. While the May 2022 Philippines national and local elections will be the first to be held under a global pandemic, its outcome will likely be shaped by social media. He is also Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Arugay is Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute where he manages The Philippine Studies Project. The regulatory and transparency deficits inherent in social media technology today stem from outdated and/or non-existent Philippine electoral laws and regulations which should be addressed through policy reforms and new legislation by the next administration.The rapid evolution of new types of social media limits the ability of the government to monitor, regulate, and prevent social media applications from sowing fake news related to the 2022 elections.While there is no one model of successful social media campaigning in the Philippines, previous presidential campaigns exposed unconventional uses of this technology and its susceptibility to disinformation.Social media will play a prominent role in the campaign strategy of candidates in the upcoming 2022 elections due to the increasing reliance of Filipinos on social media and the face-to-face restrictions associated with the pandemic.One of the many social media sites on the Philippines 2022 Presidential Elections – “Election 2022 Philippines Group” on Facebook,
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