When the Yellowtard hashtag #OustDuterte “trended” on Twitter, Mainstream Media outlets were quick to go to press.
As of 9:30PM on Friday, #OustDuterte is the third trending topic in the Philippines.
What are your thoughts on how the government is responding to the novel #coronavirus outbreak? pic.twitter.com/Yc6uH3dIqN
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) January 31, 2020
No less than the Inquirer itself issued a full report stating there that “Netizens are particularly railing against the Duterte administration’s initial refusal to take immediate action,” as if the sample of Twitter users who tweeted this hashtag is statistically representative of the total population of users.
Google “oustleni trend”, on the other hand and, as of this writing, this is all the search results you get under the news tab of Google…
Traditional Mainstream Media caught red-handed right there.
So you see, Big Corporate Media are indeed biased. There is lots to argue around the soundness of these “trends” as bases for gauging public sentiment, but the more important and indisputable point they make is the evident preferences of the Philippines’ “journalism” establishment.
It is therefore baffling that traditional news media leaders still wonder why their industry and profession continue to slide into irrelevance. It is because they could no longer be relied on for facts and sound insights on important issues of national consequence.
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