Success: 1st social media-organized protests

Filipinos held anti-corruption protests in at least 27 cities in the Philippines and abroad, sparked by a scandal on the misuse of the pork barrel and first organized on social media. As of 8pm August 26, there were more than 140,000 social media mentions about the August 26 movement, with online mentions peaking from 10am to 11am getting as many as 5 tweets per second. On the ground, police estimated 80,000 to 100,000 protesters attended the Luneta rally. At least 23 other cities across the country witnessed similar protests, while Filipinos in New York, Melbourne and Canberra held their own anti-pork barrel rallies. Key national figures, such as Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, former lawmakers and ex-Cabinet secretaries also attended the Luneta rally. Former Chief Justice Renato Corona, dismissed in 2012 over charges of unexplained wealth, tried to join the protests but was booed by the crowd.

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