During a House tri-committee hearing on Tuesday, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela identified social media influencers as key players in spreading fake news and disinformation related to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.

Tarriela said these influencers — dubbed "initiators" — serve as the primary sources of false narratives that have been circulating online, often shaping public opinion through misleading content. He noted that the phenomenon is not random, but rather part of a coordinated disinformation effort that has persisted over the past two years.

"These influencers have a high follower count and, most of the time, they are recognized and known," Tarriela said in Filipino. "Their posts are made public intentionally to ensure they can be easily shared and amplified by others."

He outlined a four-level structure behind the spread of disinformation, starting with the "initiators," who craft unverified or misleading opinions designed to create confusion. These are then picked up by "disseminators" — troll accounts or newly created profiles with no identifiable networks — whose sole purpose is to amplify the initiators' content.

"Soulless accounts that have no real identity, newly created," Tarriela explained. "They have no known networks but these disseminators are being used by the initiators to spread disinformation."

The third tier involves "reposters," or real individuals who often support certain political figures or ideologies. These reposters help further legitimize and propagate the content by sharing it with their own networks.

Ultimately, the general public becomes the most affected. Tarriela warned that many Filipinos fall victim to the layered misinformation, leading to divided opinions and confusion over the WPS.

"Due to the misinformation, many Filipinos are left with differing opinions, with some even believing that there is no such thing as the West Philippine Sea or that the Philippines is being manipulated by the United States," he said. "Some also believe that the government itself is stirring up tensions in the region."

Common narratives used to mislead

Tarriela also enumerated six common narratives used by influencers to distort the truth about the WPS issue.

"One of the most frequent lines we encounter is the claim that the Philippines has no legal basis in its fight over the West Philippine Sea," he said.

Another recurring claim is that the WPS is not a priority for ordinary Filipinos, as it supposedly does not directly impact daily life.

Other misleading lines include blaming Philippine agencies like the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for escalating tensions, as well as using fear tactics such as suggesting that asserting sovereignty over the WPS will inevitably lead to war.

A widely circulated narrative is that the Philippines is merely being dictated to by the United States, undermining the country’s sovereignty in the eyes of the public.

Lastly, Tarriela noted that some influencers have attempted to paint WPS advocates, including himself and National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya, as victims of disinformation themselves — part of an effort to discredit their work and confuse the public further.