Use Facebook to correct China’s ‘fairy tale,’ Filipinos urged

MANILA, Philippines – How to put your social media skills to good use? Fight China’s misinformation online and generate patriotism among Filipinos, Rafael Alunan of the West Philippines Sea Coalition urged Filipinos. 

The media is bound to pick up hot issues in the social media, said the co-convenor of the West Philippines Sea Coalition, which has been mobilizing Filipinos online to join rallies protesting the aggressiveness of China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“Facebook to me is the most effective social media site because Filipinos use it to reach out and to connect. I found that it’s a very effective tool for mobilizing and exchanging information,” Alunan told reporters.

The Philipines is very active in social media with about 30 million users on Facebook and 10 million on Twitter.

Alunan, along with several personalities, are maintaining personal and group pages that are disseminating information on China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea. 

“To begin with, their (China’s) claim of the South China Sea is very fallacious. There is no factual basis for it. I call it a fairy tale, the 9-dash line was thought of only in 1947,” Alunan told reporters.

One of the weakest militaries in Asia, the Philippines wants a peaceful resolution of the sea conflict and is counting on its arbitration case against China. Despite support from various countries, however, sea tensions continue to escalate.

Alunan said the West Philippines Sea Coalition is organizing another rally this month. – Rappler.com