DEMOCRACY DISCONNECTED: SOCIAL MEDIA’S CAUSTIC INFLUENCE ON SOUTHEAST ASIA’S FRAGILE REPUBLICS sources or evidence to back up its claims.74 These fabricated stories have resulted in real-world consequences, paving the way for the regime’s critics to be targeted for raids and arrests.75 Hun Sen is not the only Southeast Asian leader who has come to rely on the manipulation of social media to shore up his support. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has also proven himself especially adept at using Facebook to enhance his power. Facebook served as one of the major battlegrounds in the country’s 2016 presidential election, with each of the five candidates using the platform to campaign. Just as is the case in Cambodia, social media has become so pervasive in the country that it has become a political necessity to use such technological tools for voter outreach.76 In the case of the Philippines, the millions of citizens employed overseas largely depend on Facebook to maintain ties with their families.77 In fact, the country’s love affair with social media was underscored in 2014 when TIME magazine deemed the Makati City district of Manila the “Selfie Capital of the World.”78 It is, therefore, no surprise that Duterte has sought to manipulate Facebook to his political advantage. The Philippine-based online news website Rappler has been locked in an ongoing battle with the government since publishing a series of stories exposing Duterte’s use of paid trolls, bots, and intimidation tactics as part of his social media campaign.79 Even after taking office, Duterte has continued to use online propaganda and disinformation, particularly with regard to his administration’s controversial war on drugs, to shore up his support.80 A group of social media influencers, who refer to themselves collectively as Diehard Duterte Supporters, have been granted special access to officials and, in some cases, have been employed by the government to post content online favorable to the administration.81 As has become the norm throughout Southeast Asia, social media in the Philippines is now teeming with fake news. In an August 2016 post to Facebook, Duterte’s campaign spokesman shared a picture of a young girl whom he alleged had been raped and killed by a drug dealer. However, a journalist subsequently debunked the image, revealing that it had originated from Brazil rather than the Philippines.82 Another story that went viral around the same time stated that the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration had recognized Duterte as “the best 74 Megha Rajagopalan, “This Country’s Democracy Has Fallen Apart — And it Played Out to Millions on Facebook,” BuzzFeed, January 21, 2018, https://www.buzzfeed.com/meghara/facebook-cambodia-democracy?utm_term=. dfVddQ1N4x#.trDGGYv9lo. 75 Cory Doctorow, “Facebook Helped Consolidate Power for Cambodia’s Dictator and His Attack-Dog Media, Then Killed the Independent Press’s Platform,” Boing Boing, January 22, 2018, https://boingboing.net/2018/01/22/ khmer-stooge.html. 76 Aim Sinpeng, “How Duterte Won the Election on Facebook,” New Mandala, May 12, 2016, http://www. newmandala.org/how-duterte-won-the-election-on-facebook/. 77 Adrian Chen, “When a Populist Demagogue Takes Power,” The New Yorker, November 21, 2016, https://www. newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/21/when-a-populist-demagogue-takes-power. 78 Chris Wilson, “The Selfiest Cities in the World: TIME’s Definitive Ranking,” TIME, March 10, 2014, http://time. com/selfies-cities-world-rankings/. 79 Maria A. Ressa, “Propaganda War: Weaponizing the Internet,” Rappler, October 3, 2016, https://www.rappler. com/nation/148007-propaganda-war-weaponizing-internet. 80 Lauren Etter, “What Happens When the Government Uses Facebook as a Weapon?” Bloomberg, December 7, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-07/how-rodrigo-duterte-turned-facebook-into-a-weaponwith-a-little-help-from-facebook. 81 Natashya Gutierrez, “State-Sponsored Hate: The Rise of the Pro-Duterte Bloggers,” Rappler, August 18, 2017, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/178709-duterte-die-hard-supporters-bloggers-propaganda-pcoo. 82 Camille Elemia, “Photo Used by Duterte Camp to Hit Critics Taken in Brazil, Not PH,” Rappler, August 29, 2016, https://www.rappler.com/nation/144551-duterte-camp-brazil-photo-rape-victim-critics. 16 | Foreign Policy at Brookings