Philippine Yellow Journalism and Media Crisis
It's really ironic to know when someone who advocates freedom of expression and press freedom silences critics because he couldn't take dissents. Speaking up your mind is a privilege not only limited to a certain group - it applies to all.
Manila, Philippines - Philippine journalist Maria Ressa has been known for blocking her detractors on social media because she couldn't handle dissents considering they're just as arrogantly forward as she is against the administration. Ressa silenced one of her critics Richard Imperial whose Twitter account was taken down by Twitter after she reported his tweets that she considered defamatory.
Ressa didn't like Imperial's suggestions in the comment thread addressing Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to declare Ressa a ' persona non grata ' after being skewered by Ressa when Gatchalian accused her of insinuating bad reputation against the country. "@stgatchalian @ASKmediarisk @mariaressa I hope someone will file a persona non grata status for this ingrate journalist named Maria Ressa who is pretending to be Filipino." This was the tweet posted by Imperial in the comment section depicted by Twitter as a clear violation of rules against abuse and harassment after reported it to Twitter so his account was placed in treatment.
Imperial got so infuriated after his Twitter was restricted. He felt that his privilege of ' freedom of expression ' was denied. After his account got reinstated, he took it to denounce Ressa. The self-proclaimed pragmatic journalist and the agitated netizen had a heated argument using their Twitter accounts. Ressa did her old plain usual tactic addressing her detractors as ' Trolls ' while Imperial derided Ressa as a manipulator using her influence to mute her offenders on social media.
Imperial warned those who will stand against Ressa will be silenced that she can use her influence as a journalist to take down the accounts of her critics in order shut them up.
It's really absurd how someone who fights for freedom of expressions and press couldn't handle differs and nonconcur. Ressa has violated her own principle of free speech. Why would she use her influence to manipulate the social media to mute those who disagree with her while she commends those who stood on her side considering they're just as brutal and candid as her transgressors.
Philippines being a democratic country, freedom of expression is not only limited to the leftist group and members of the yellow community. It applies to all. Silencing your critics using your influence is not an act of strength but a weakness.
Blacktrident
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