Abstract
Results from previous studies showed that political trolling was used as a strategy in the 2016 Philippine general elections. Online activities of political trolls are primarily hidden in the mainstream media to continuously thrive in victimizing the public with black propaganda campaigns. The creation of democratized content has created a new underground industry dedicated to shielding politicians’ reputations, fabricating and manipulating content, and provoking the online political realm. After six years, the practice was reportedly observed in the 2022 Philippine general elections once again. This research provides recent findings after analyzing underground political troll activities on social media to influence public opinion during the 2022 Philippine elections and identify social media users’ level of awareness. Guided by Harold Lasswell’s Theory of Political Propaganda, the study’s framework explains how various political trolling activities can corrupt public opinion in a digital space. Using a mixed method with an exploratory sequential design, the study utilizes two research approaches: (1) content analysis of identified political troll campaigns before the 2022 election day and (2) survey questionnaires among one hundred social media users. The research results explain the end-to-end relationship between black propaganda campaigns executed by political trolls and public awareness about underground trolling practices.
Presenters
Roselle EspinaStudent, Master of Arts in Communication, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
DIGITAL, SOCIAL MEDIA, POLITICS, BLACK PROPAGANDA
