Thread by @ShibaniMahtani

Thread/ @RegineCabato and I spent months taking a deep look into the Philippine trolling industry. Our investigation reveals how deep it has seeped into every layer in society, across the political aisle, and how it is now going global
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…

@RegineCabato We spoke to more than half a dozen trolls, not all of whom are quoted in here, who have been contracted to make stuff up for literally anyone and everyone you can think of: liberal politicians, fast food chains, Duterte and his allies, Duterte's opponents

@RegineCabato Proof of their work is not hard to find. It took @RegineCabato just a couple of weeks to find a photo of a dead Filipino girl being used again and again on FB and Twitter accounts supporting candidates ahead of the May midterms

@RegineCabato Having perfected their art at home, these operators are now going global. Western clients have sought them out to reproduce their magic for them -- using the same young, savvy, English-speaking labor force that has made the Ph a hub for content moderation and call centers

@RegineCabato We are learning about Iran working to create a Russian-style online influence campaign ahead of the 2020 elections. But what if sophisticated domestic efforts, like those in the Philippines, are brewing too, when we are so focused on bad foreign actors?
washingtonpost.com/technology/201…

@RegineCabato Notably, we've heard across the board from trolls that
@facebook's actions have had an impact. One said his Duterte-linked client threatened to cut their budget by a whopping 70% because posts and accounts kept getting taken down. Then they found ways to innovate. Biz is booming

@RegineCabato @facebook When Duterte's term is up, he will have left the Ph irreversibly changed: 20, 000+ dead in a merciless drug war. Another political dynasty in place. Foreign relations and rules rewritten. But perhaps the vile, vitriolic trolling he started will be his greatest legacy of all.

@RegineCabato @facebook More background on the genesis of all this in @daveyalba 's seminal work for @BuzzFeed buzzfeednews.com/article/daveya…

@RegineCabato @facebook @daveyalba @BuzzFeed A note too on the economics: The troll farm operator we spent most time with says he charges US$40-60k A MONTH for these services, and is usually kept on retainer for up to 8 months. A Duterte-linked troll farm characterized this as a multi-million, if not billion $ industry

@RegineCabato @facebook @daveyalba @BuzzFeed This is a country where a fifth of people live below the poverty line -- both a driving force of the industry (young grads who simply need the money) and what makes this so egregious (politicians should be spending their money elsewhere)