Challenging waters: TikTok and the West Philippine Sea
THE WEST Philippine Sea (WPS) dispute has confronted journalists with another challenge — it seems reports on WPS are barred on certain platforms. TikTok, a social media platform, has captured a huge following among Filipinos in search of or providing distraction, entertainment, even news. However, censorship has reared its ugly head over TikTok.
As news about the West Philippine Sea fills mainstream and social media space; experts, entertainers, and journalists have turn to their personal social media platforms to chime in or churn information and ideas on the issue – but not all gets published or garners views. CMFR looked into allegations of censorship of content on the PH-China dispute over WPS on TikTok.
Like the waters of the WPS, TikTok is now another challenge.
TikTok and unclear guidelines
Owned by ByteDance, TikTok is a Beijing-based company. While Shou Chew, its CEO, stressed that ByteDance is not owned nor controlled by the Chinese government, he acknowledged that like most Chinese companies, it is legally required to have a Communist Party committee member within its organization.
The Guardian on September 25, 2019 revealed that TikTok instructs its moderators to censor videos as part of its advancement of Chinese foreign policy. According to leaked documents detailing the site’s moderation guidelines accessed by The Guardian, the guidelines divide banned material into two categories: some content is marked as a “violation”, which is deleted from the site entirely, and some content is marked as “visible to self.” The latter content is posted but TikTok’s algorithm limits its distribution without users knowing for sure whether their content has been censored or has failed to garner views.
The Guardian examined some of TikTok’s guidelines. A section deals with “hate speech and religion.” It lists 20 “foreign leaders or sensitive figures” including Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung, Mahatma Gandhi, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Kim Jong-un, Shinzo Abe, Park Geun-Hee, Joko Widodo and Narendra Modi. Xi Jinping is excluded. The Guardian said that the documents were leaked amid rising suspicion of the Hong Kong protests on TikTok in June 2019 and lasted until 2020. ByteDance said the documents were retired in May 2020 and that the current guidelines do not reference specific countries or issues.
Other international media followed up and reported more allegations of censorship favoring the Chinese government – The Washington Post on September 2019, The Intercept on March 2020, and the Wall Street Journal in June 2020, among other media outlets and studies.
Recent developments suggests that the WPS and related issues may be regarded as sensitive given the experience of Filipinos whose posts have been censored.
Political Analyst Richard Heydarian
On December 19, 2023, Heydarian, a political analyst, noticed that his commentary on the WPS was “not getting even a single view.” He related this experience in his column published in Inquirer, noting the absence of any views despite having thousands of followers and half-a-million following his previous posts on political issues.
“What began as bewilderment quickly crystallized into gnawing suspicion,” he said, adding that he has followed the news and multiple cases where the Chinese app allegedly censored content. “To test how smart the alleged censorship is,” he tried posting videos unrelated to the West Philippine Sea or China, such as an interview with former senator Leila de Lima on her trials and tribulations, and the fallout between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte – both of which garnered views within seconds.
He added that he has yet to receive a response or explanation from TikTok, despite tagging it in his posts. He pointed out that thought leaders like him are slandered as warmongers or ‘pro-American stooges’ for “simply questioning Beijing’s preposterously excessive claims across the whole South China Sea.” This especially by trolls, entertainers, and intellectuals who supported former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Entertainment Host Vice Ganda
On another front, entertainment host and comedian Vice Ganda posted a video on TikTok on May 10 featuring makeup trends.
With entertainment, she added social commentary on various issues such as traffic in Metro Manila, the Rizal monument’s backdrop dominated by a condominium, jeepney phaseout, the resort in Chocolate Hills, and the West Philippine Sea.
Nearing the end of the video, Vice portrayed herself as being attacked by water cannons in the WPS, then raised the Philippine flag as she crawled on the beach. “Lagi kitang pipiliin, Pilipinas,” (Will always choose you, Philippines) Vice wrote in the caption.
On the same day, the video was devoid of sound. Still, on the same day, a million viewers lauded the feature. Transport group Piston and Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela also thanked Vice for the “clear” message.
While media organizations picked up the news on their entertainment section, only TV5’s Frontline Weekend highlighted that the video was muted in TikTok.
Journalist Joseph Morong
On the news front, GMA’s Joseph Morong posted on May 28 a video on TikTok which shared his experiences covering the WPS, captioned “MAHIRAP BA MAG-COVER SA (Is it difficult to cover) WEST PHILIPPINE SEA? How is it like to cover the West Philippine Sea? A glimpse into what is at stake in what others consider a potential flashpoint in geopolitics.” The next day, he took to Facebook noting that the video was muted: “Lols. It doesn’t even have a soundbite. Just my voice but TikTok muted this content on the WPS.”
Netizens chimed in on the discussion – pointing to TikTok as China-owned, calling for a ban on TikTok. Some shared that their comments on TikTok have been deleted as well.
Inquirer.net reported the story in their entertainment section. The Daily Tribune published an opinion piece discussing the issue.
All in all, the issue swims in other platforms and includes other factors like artificial intelligence. Rappler in December 2023 unveiled the pro-China network on Facebook that has been spreading propaganda and disinformation, led by the pro-Duterte bloggers who were legitimized under the Duterte administration. PressOne.PH on May 27 explained how China’s state media has used artificial intelligence as a tool in its social media offensive on the topic of the South China Sea.
Filipinos must become aware of how China’s platforms may prove hostile territory for their communication.
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