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How we talk about #MartialLaw today

Rappler Social Media Team

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How we talk about #MartialLaw today
Who are the social media influencers in the #MartialLaw Twitter conversation?

MANILA, Philippines – In a social media platform dominated by millennials, how did a Twitter conversation about martial law go?

On the 43rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law, netizens turned to social media to express their thoughts and opinions about this period that happened under the dictatorship of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

MovePH, Rappler‘s civic engagement arm, led a Twitter conversation about martial law and peace last Monday, September 21. International Day of Peace was also observed on the same day (READ: Netizens reflect on September 21, #MartialLaw and #PeaceDay).

Twitter communities discussing #PeaceDay or #MartialLaw

According to pewinternet.org, 37% of online adults using Twitter in 2014 are between ages 18-29, while 25% are between 30-49. 

Who are the social media influencers in the martial law conversation? What did they have to say about it?

Reach, Rappler’s data analytics, provides a visualization of a community discussion around specific topics and hashtags. Through real-time monitoring of keywords and hashtags, it can identify who the social media influencers are for a certain Twitter campaign and what their roles are in the conversation.

In a span of two hours, #MartialLaw generated over 36 million impressions on Twitter, producing over a thousand tweets from more than 560 unique Twitter users. 

Number of #MartialLaw tweets generated over time. Screenshot from Reach

Aside from MovePH and Rappler, other key social media influencers in the conversation were Twitter users @pipodelrosario, @LawrenceLately, and @jeromepanibio. 

Every Twitter user who engaged in the conversation had a role to play, and we were able to identify them by 3 categories: broadcasters, linkers, and niche.

Here is a screen grab of a Reach map showing the Twitter accounts categorized as broadcasters, as well as their connections with each other. The broadcasters are responsible for keeping the conversation alive, giving others something to talk about. 

Broadcasters discussed how some millennials, who kept pointing out how everything was more efficient back then, should look at the other side of the coin.




For @jeromepanibio, one does not have to experience martial law to know why it is considered as one of the darkest eras in Philippine history.


This community became the dominant voice and opinion during the #MartialLaw conversation. However, some still argued that martial law was necessary to restore order.

Follow this Twitter exchange between @YamatoKira16 and @pipodelrosario:


Here are more tweets from other broadcasters during the conversation:




Another set of influencers identified by Reach are the linkers – the Twitter users who helped amplify the message of the broadcasters to niche communities. @rapplerdotcom served as the main linker for @MovePH’s tweets during the conversation. Below are the other netizens who played a similar role.  

Twitter user @iamziemoholic was one of those who said that there was a “bright side” to martial law.


@Cluelesster thought otherwise.

 


@sheisdominique said that martial law had its “perks” but later went on to clarify that she referred to its supposed positive impact on international relations.



A few other notable linkers talked about their plight during the martial law period:




Drilling down further, we were also able to identify the niche communities. 

Notable niche communities belonged to the following Twitter users: @raffymagno, @nimbosa, @tiagoarnaiz, and @arlocordova. 

@raffymagno tweeted about the importance of an informed campaign about martial law. 




@nimbosa tried to provide perspective, emphasizing that every story has two sides. 




Meanwhile, Twitter user @TiagoArnaiz tweeted about a possible #TwitterPowerRevolution if martial law was declared in the age of social media.





For @arlocordova, the recent Lumad killings are an example of “glorified Martial Law.” 




What if martial law happened today? Some of our netizens from these communities weighed in on possible scenarios:









How about you? What do you think will be the outcome if martial law is declared today?

Let us know in the comments section below or write an opinion piece on X. – Rappler.com

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