In the late 19th century, some Filipino Ilustrados came up with an idea to disseminate propaganda materials against the Spanish. This was how the newspaper La Solidaridad came into being. However, the Solidaridad had a problem regarding distribution of these propaganda materials, so they had to do it clandestinely, for fear of being persecuted.
Then came the bill of rights and with it, the freedom of speech and the press – “balanced news, fearless views” as one newspaper claims. And still, the Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. People from the media get sued, kidnapped, killed, or worse, “disappeared”. How is that for freedom?
And one day, you open your e-mail and get a detailed account of a horrifying event at a golf club involving certain government officials. You wonder whether it is true or not, but given the current situation and the long history of corruption, you tend to side more with the alleged victim that the powerful group who highly probably did it. After a little while, you see this e-mail being forwarded by a classmate to everyone in the world who has an e-mail address, including BBC, CNN, and perhaps even your friendly neighborhood tambay.
While it is not safe to believe everything you read or see on the internet, it is still a comforting thought that there is this channel of communication that has less restrictions than the ones we grew up with. It is just a matter of knowing how to sift through the bullshit to get to the truth.
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