#ThewRap: Things you need to know, January 19, 2018

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) leads various organizations in holding a rally Friday night, January 19, to protest the Duterte government’s series of attacks on press freedom, the latest being the order to close down Rappler, which the online news outfit is appealing.

The #BlackFridayForPressFreedom rally will be held at the Boy Scout Circle at the Tomas Morato-Timog Avenue rotunda in Quezon City, starting at 6 pm.

The activity is organized as the New York-based Human Rights Watch issues its world report that says, “President Rodrigo Duterte has plunged the Philippines into its worst human rights crisis since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s.”

Those who cannot come to the rally can show their support by wearing black wherever they are, take selfies, and post them on social media. Use the event hashtag #BlackFridayForPressFreedom, as well as #DefendPressFreedom and #StandWithRappler.

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