Am I a propagandist?

Lopez

When I am attacked for my political views online, one common criticism is that I am a propagandist for President Duterte. The answer is a little more complicated than a mere yes or no.

Over the weekend, Maria Ressa practically endorsed an article from Pinoy Ako Blog (PAB), an erstwhile anonymous anti-Duterte propagandist whose identity was recently exposed. Via a tweet sharing the PAB link, Ressa says, “Defend the Fourth Estate | Para sa bayan tuloy ang laban.”

I find it rather disconcerting that the esteemed journalist, Princeton alumna, and avowed enemy of “fake news” would so quickly promote an article about “propagandists versus legit media” from a partisan propagandist, of all people. (Just because it defends her? Seriously?)

What’s more is the thumbnail photo had my face on it on the side of PAB’s supposed group of “propagandists,” never mind that I’ve been with mainstream media (broadcast and print) for nearly a decade.

Sure, I’ve criticized Maria and Rappler not a few times, but whenever did I post fake news or share from fake news sites? (I’ve shared from non-mainstream news blogs when they quote me, but that’s because I could verify the content.) Anyway, I hope Maria finally learns to make a distinction: political opinion and criticism of mainstream media — however strong and impassioned — are not fake news.

When government censors mainstream media, it’s an issue of freedom of the press. But when mainstream media bullies people who simply don’t agree with how they report the news, what’s that? For sure, it’s not covered by freedom of the press. More like abuse of the freedom of the press trampling on our freedom to express.

But before anything else, here’s a thought on propaganda from my brilliant friend, Miguel Garcia, who’s completing his PhD at the University of Zurich:

“Here’s an idea: Regardless where you are in the political spectrum, you are subscribing to propaganda. If you subscribe to pro-government rhetoric, you are subscribing to their propaganda. If you subscribe to anti-government rhetoric, you are subscribing to that propaganda.

The whole truth versus fake news dichotomy is a straw man: their ‘truth’ will never be yours and vice versa, and they will always skew what is true to their favor, while ignoring those that don’t.

The bloggers who espouse a particular political viewpoint are propagandists, and you subscribe to that kind of belief. But that shouldn’t stop us from living peacefully, and being a ‘propagandist’ shouldn’t be a bad thing.

Religious and non-religious denominations—which are by definition, propaganda—manage to coexist peacefully today. What’s happening today in this borderless space called social media and the internet is that people preach in places where they shouldn’t be preaching. But here’s a place where it serves for good entertainment: an open park.

It would be reminiscent of the good old days where Bible preachers go to public parks and just have an open smack down on who has a better interpretation of the Bible. It’s the same text with different ‘truths,’ depending on how you interpret it.”

There, a levelheaded discussion on propaganda. Having decided to pursue a career in political communication, I should be the last person offended by the tag. But as a founding member of the Association of Political Consultants in Asia (APCA) that seeks to further professionalize political consulting in the country, I am quite bothered at the negative connotation being attached to the word “propagandist.”

Like other professions, there are good and bad propagandists as there are good and bad doctors and lawyers and accountants. In my book, simply put, political communication is saying the truth in the best possible way.

So am I a propagandist for the President? Yes and no. Yes, because technically, as per Google’s definition, a propagandist is “a person who promotes or publicizes a particular organization or cause.”

No, too, because I do not agree with the President every single time. I am not a single-issue person, so while I support him by and large, there are fundamental issues where we disagree.

On my Facebook, I’ve written about my position against the death penalty, some of his appointments, the President’s language, etc. A propagandist, especially a paid one, would be constrained to be pro all the way.

Cash versus conviction

If I were to embrace the tag “pro-Duterte propagandist” despite my open opposition to some of the issues the President feels strongly for, there is another issue we need to take up.

Am I a paid propagandist? Hell, no. Even if I’ve pursued a career as a political consultant and there shouldn’t be anything wrong working for his communications team in whatever capacity, I have never been paid to promote this particular President, not during the campaign, not after he’s won, never.

And I swear on everything I consider holy, I swear on the name of every ascendant and ancestor of mine, it’s all powered by conviction.
Problem with some people who are paid for promoting or attacking political personalities or parties is they find it completely incomprehensible for other people to just do it because they believe in it.

I won’t even put it past Pinoy Ako Blog if she was doing this because she truly believes in Leni or the Liberal Party. I know some Yellows, some of them my cousins, who focus on the ideals for which the party was built, the promise of Edsa, they hold on to the dream of a better country and see LP as the best path forward.

See, I disagree with their politics but I don’t necessarily doubt their convictions. There are a bunch of bad LP eggs, corrupt to the core hypocrites, but I’m sure there are those who don’t need cash to slug it out. Conversely, I am sure there exists pro-Duterte influencers, supporters, and politicians who are in it for money or sheer ambition.

I will repeat, have I ever been paid to express my support for the President? Have I ever been paid to criticize the Yellows? For the record, no. These are things I would do for free. And if it ever came to a point that doing so would come at a cost, I’ll cough up whatever I can for the freedom to do so.
As it is, I am paying the hefty price.