By Nikko Balbedina
PressOnePH
A wave of suspicious X (formerly Twitter) accounts simultaneously posted screenshots of the debunked “polvoron” video, which falsely showed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. using illegal drugs, just days after the Philippines passed laws asserting its sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea.
As of this writing, PressOnePH has identified 25 X accounts with Chinese usernames and three with English-language usernames involved in the coordinated dissemination of the screenshot on Nov. 11. All of the accounts with Chinese usernames were created in September.
The images were posted with the caption “#Marcos,Drug Abuser#” and featured the same screenshot with the Filipino text “NAPANOOD KO NA” (“I have watched this”).
The accounts had also simultaneously reposted three separate news blog posts written in Chinese, all of which criticized US involvement in Philippine maritime activities in the disputed waters and were originally published in late May.
Similar dubious accounts have been posting the same tweet since July when the supposed “polvoron” video first surfaced.
At the same time, 19 of the identified accounts also simultaneously and repeatedly shared links to news reports about Vice President Sara Duterte, who had a falling out with her former political partner Marcos Jr., and had remained silent on the West Philippine Sea row.
Marcos Jr. inks maritime zones, archipelagic lanes laws
On Nov. 8, Marcos Jr. signed into law two pieces of legislation that defined the country’s maritime zones and sea lanes. The Philippine Maritime Zones Act reinforces the country’s sovereignty and authority over its internal and archipelagic waters and territorial sea, extending to the airspace above and the seabed and subsoil beneath
The Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, meanwhile, designates the routes foreign ships and aircraft are allowed to pass through within Philippine territory.
These measures align the Philippines’s domestic laws with international standards set by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 arbitral ruling that affirmed the country’s maritime rights over the West Philippine Sea and its features.
In his speech, Marcos Jr. said that these laws “signal our resolve to protect our maritime resources, preserve our rich biodiversity, and ensure that our waters remain a source of life and livelihood for all Filipinos.”
“By defining and asserting our maritime zones, we project to the international community that we are staunchly committed to nurturing, cultivating, and protecting our maritime domain,” Marcos Jr. said.
Chinese-state media attack new PH maritime laws
State-run media organizations in China were quick to condemn the passage of the landmark laws.
On Nov. 9, while the fake “polvoron” videos were making the rounds on X, China Daily, China’s largest state-run English-language news agency, said that the Philippines “stirred up controversy” when it enacted the maritime zones law.
In a video posted by their TikTok channel MediaUnlocked, which we have previously reported and fact-checked, China Daily falsely and baselessly claimed that the laws enacted by Manila are inconsistent with the provisions of UNCLOS.
Debunking Media Unlocked’s fact-challenged reporting on Scarborough
Seeking credibility, China Daily’s ‘Media Unlocked’ TikTok passes off opinion as news
ALERT: China Daily’s socmed propaganda push gets more traction on TikTok
A separate editorial published the following evening alleged that the laws were intended to “illegally” assert claims over the Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands,
conveniently omitting the fact that both features lie well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The editorial further suggested that Manila should resume negotiations with Beijing, despite China’s continued refusal to recognize the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which upheld the Philippines’ claims in the West Philippine Sea.
The same “Philippines is stirring up trouble” narrative was echoed by another Chinese state-controlled information agency. In its Nov. 10 column, Xinhua baselessly called the Philippines an exploiter of international law. (with reports from Leigh San Diego and Hurt Allauigan)
This report was made possible by an Internews project to build the capacity of news organizations in understanding disinformation and influence operations in the Philippines.
PANOORIN: Paano minamanipula ang mga Pilipino?
Paano nga ba minamanipula ang kamalayan ng mga Pilipino para paniwalaan at suportahan ang mga ideya na kontra sa kanilang interes?
Sara Duterte-related content gets push from network of dubious Chinese X accounts
A network of suspicious Chinese-linked X (formerly Twitter) accounts has simultaneously posted similar content related to Vice President Sara Duterte, boosting social media engagement around her.
Chinese X accounts ‘temporarily banned’ from site following coordinated attack vs Marcos Jr.
Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) temporarily restricted a network of Chinese-linked accounts involved in coordinated attacks against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. after his signing of landmark laws asserting Manila’s rights over the West Philippine Sea.