Several blog posts ago, I wrote about rhodophobia, the fear of PINK. That was tame.
This fear has become virulent and violent—fake news peddlers are running amok, especially after the launching of the Angat Buhay project on July 1.
I would have thought (the normal human behavior) that the troll farms’ candidates, plus their alleged 31-million compatriots, would be dancing on the streets, shouting with glee, patting each other on the back for a job-well-done, being magnanimous “winners,” and working for unity, their solitary campaign promise.
Instead, these nameless, faceless windbags have stepped-up their disinformation on practically all posts about Leni since the winners were proclaimed till now. While I agree that public officials need to be called out for their misconduct and mandate failure, I can't fathom why troll farms continue their massive slandering. Leni is no longer a government official and her VP post required no job but to stand by in case something happens to the president. And now as private citizen, she is continuing her project in the OVP, financed by volunteers and the private sector.
Yet, they continue to vomit damning fakery like “did nothing as VP” “asking for Angat Buhay donations to fund her next presidential campaign" “Met with diatabelizers in the US” “NPA supporter” “Brainless” “$%^#+!@*!” and a lot more I dare not write for fear of falling into the pit of ungrace.
One posted a scoffing message (let me try to make sense of it in English): “Kakampinks are a poor copy of us. We are united and we have the numbers. One post alone earns thousands of likes in minutes. Our vloggers have millions of followers.”
Poor copy?! That would be comparing apples and oranges.
Trolls are handsomely paid and therefore spend their time on the Net, their source of income. In an article in South China Morning Post (researched by Jonathan Ong), the president-elect admitted, "I hired a troll army, thousands and thousands."
Kakampinks are all volunteers and go online only during our spare time; we have legitimate jobs or businesses.
Trolls are provided with scripts or content, as evidenced by many sumilar cut-and-paste posts.
Kakampinks write what they have in their heart. Nobody, not even Tony beloved, orders me what to write about.
Trolls hide their profiles on socmed because they have multiple accounts; they go by aliases and borrowed photos.
Kakampinks’ profiles are for all to read and our individual pages are openly PINK.
Trolls do nothing but comment, using gutter language meant to divide and incite rebellion.
Kakampinks speak their minds and do creative things. An endless number of songs, poems, presentations, art pieces, books, etc. by individuals and groups for the PINK campaign pepper the Net. 
So why the PINK alert?
Disinformation by troll farms were mostly directed against Leni prior to the election, according to UP professor of journalism, Yvonne Chua. And now, in “victory,” these fake-news generators have become more vicious, more ferocious, and more dangerous than ever. I have been cursed and damned for my posts on helping with Angat Buhay. Let us not let our guard down.
What can we do?
For one, the announcement that a number of lawyers will take to court those spreading fake news is welcome news.
We can likewise debunk lies and present the truth, always with proof. Those of us who have been praying for divine justice must press on.
Together, we are a 15-million force that can help uplift the lives of our people by helping kakampinks in need and being as driven in working for the Angat Pinas, Inc. (Angat Buhay project) as we were during the campaign.
Divine justice is a promise; it is forthcoming.
"A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish." (Proverbs 19:9 NIV)
Photo credits: the images in the collage are borrowed from kakampinks' socmed posts.
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