01:22.0
Okay, talk to us about this, no?
01:25.7
Lumabas ang statement nyo recently.
01:28.5
Well, ito yung mahirap sabihin, Christian. Kasi syempre, yung attacks na na-record namin, puro anonymous yan.
01:45.5
Or rather, they have to do with South China Sea, or they're targeting journalists covering South China Sea.
01:54.1
Pero hindi natin masasabi kung kanino ba talaga galing yung source.
01:58.5
What we can do is just infer. Kaya ginamit po natin yung word na indicative of foreign interference.
02:05.2
So, to kind of walk you guys through kung ano yung mga sample ng mga threats na na-encounter natin sa mga members natin.
02:13.6
Yung isa na na-mention dyan sa statement natin, impersonation or spoofing.
02:18.5
So, nag-record kami ng isang case where a journalist from a member agency of FOCAP,
02:28.5
nagkaroon ng fake email sa isang government agency claiming to be that journalist, claiming to be a foreign correspondent,
02:36.2
trying to phish for information on South China Sea.
02:39.6
Pero pinadala yun from a Google email at hindi galing sa company email.
02:45.1
Wait, sorry Regina.
02:46.6
When you say phish information about the West Philippine Sea, ano yung nature?
02:51.3
Ano yung information na gusto niya makuha? At anong government agency ito?
02:56.0
The government agency.
02:57.5
I'm not sure if I'm at liberty actually to disclose what government agency it is.
03:02.5
But yun, sabihin na natin it's a government agency.
03:05.4
But they didn't respond to that particular email.
03:10.5
We'll have to ask, of course, for the consent ng member at agency concerned.
03:15.0
And we're still in the fact-finding process.
03:17.0
So, that's why very general pa muna yung statement natin while we're still trying to go through the details din with our members.
03:25.1
When we say phish...
03:27.5
It gives us an idea on how grave the situation was.
03:30.2
Kasi medyo nakaka-alarm yung sinasabi nyo, no?
03:32.7
So, meron nagpanggap na kunwari, journalist na ito.
03:37.3
Tapos sumulat sa isang government agency, kumukuha ng detalya tungkol sa West Philippine Sea.
03:42.4
Basically, name person na ikaya, ginagamit kayo.
03:45.0
Yung example na yun, that particular journalist.
03:47.8
So, nakaka-alarm yun.
03:48.7
Kasi kung medyo, tawad dito, naive yung ano, okay, na-auto yung government agency, pwede mag-release ng information, di ba?
03:57.5
That's why also, we released the statement.
04:00.1
Para magiging aware, not only yung public, also government agents.
04:05.4
It's a cue to all the people who might be working with FOCAP to double-check and verify.
04:11.0
If journalists reach out to them and try to see, no?
04:14.0
If you know any of our members, try to cross-check.
04:17.6
Precisely because we recorded a case like this.
04:20.5
At may danger yan.
04:21.7
So, we're still trying to find the facts, no, Ian?
04:25.5
Pero, sa pagkaka...
04:27.5
Alam ko, if I recall correctly, in this particular case, it was trying to seek information or some form of comment from this agency regarding an issue related to South China Sea.
04:40.1
However, hindi nga nag-respond yung government because they found the email suspicious.
04:45.0
Paano nalaman yung journalist na mayroong gano'n nangyari?
04:48.4
That he or she was being impersonated?
04:51.9
Yung agency yung nakalaman.
04:53.6
So, flinag sa colleagues dito sa Pilipinas.
04:57.5
Nang government agency.
05:00.7
Okay. Ano pa iba example?
05:02.2
Yung mga nakakita nyo.
05:02.9
Kasi nakalagay dito, uptick in messages to journalists from fake or suspicious email addresses.
05:09.4
Ayan, kasama ka dyan, Ian, diba?
05:13.2
Oo. Last year, we received...
05:15.1
Kasama rin ako dito.
05:16.3
We received emails from this specific address or person.
05:23.4
And tell me, Ian, kung pareha ba yung experience mo?
05:26.4
Kasi ako, I received...
05:27.5
I received it twice.
05:28.5
Supposedly, with somebody of the same name, pero each email had a different email address.
05:36.8
Na medyo suspicious, kind of spammy nga yung domain.
05:41.2
Kasi magkaiba yung domain or something along those lines, no?
05:44.4
So, parang unang red flag yun.
05:47.3
And if we got the same email, Ian, it was trying to get journalists to write about Vietnam occupation in South China Sea.
05:57.5
So, kaya we should talk about this.
05:59.5
And kaya rin namin linabas yung statement na to, no?
06:01.7
So that journalists are aware na medyo...
06:03.8
It might be a little more widespread than we actually think it is.
06:07.1
So, we're trying to get a rough headcount of how many people got it.
06:10.8
So, sa pagkakaalam ko naman, wala namang journalist na pumatol.
06:15.3
Or some people tried to probe and the person didn't respond or hindi ma-verify yung identity.
06:21.5
So, hindi naman nilang nagawa yung mission nila to sway the news agenda, no?
06:27.5
But, it's definitely important that we talk about it.
06:30.4
Kasi once we started talking about it, we also realized na we were all getting the same email but from different email addresses.
06:38.1
So, isa rin yung red flag in order for us to be able to tell that this is not an organic operation, diba?
06:47.2
Hindi siya organic na whistleblower.
06:49.6
O, dito sa mga viewers natin, baka hindi sila masyadong nakakarelate doon sa specific na nangyari na yun, no?
06:56.0
Kasi pag journalist, nakakatapos...
06:57.5
Nanganggap kami ng mga tips kung saan saan.
06:59.7
And of course, we verify those tips.
07:01.8
Pero, in this particular case na binabanggit ni Regine, parang ho pala kami nang pinag-uusapan.
07:06.2
We received an email from this suspicious account.
07:09.5
Sinasabi, parang ano siya eh, yung tinititili ka, diba?
07:13.1
Parang gusto niya, uy, meron akong scoop sa'yo, diba?
07:17.0
Tapos, nandoon na lahat ang detalye, diba?
07:19.2
So, kung hindi ka nag-iisip, okay na to.
07:21.9
Hindi ka nag-verify, pwede mo namang isulat, diba?
07:24.6
Pero, mukha siyang consistent doon sa Chinese propaganda.
07:27.6
Na nilalayo yung heat away from China, papunta sa Vietnam.
07:32.7
Bakit yung Vietnam, hindi niyo pinag-iinitan?
07:35.2
Parang gano'n yung tono niya, diba?
07:38.2
Tapos, very ano pa siya eh.
07:40.9
May isang part ng email na parang, I am a concerned Filipino citizen.
07:44.2
Pero, Filipino ba talaga yung nagsulat nito?
07:48.0
Kasi medyo sketchy yung email, gano'n.
07:50.9
Yung isa, medyo may typo sa Filipino name.
07:54.0
So, kaya medyo red flag.
07:57.5
Tapos, ayaw magpakita in person or to verify yung actual identity.
08:02.6
Oo nga eh. Pinaghihirapan pa nila eh.
08:04.6
Magbasa ka lang ng ilang kolumnista rito eh.
08:07.5
Out and out naman yung pagiging Chinese propagandist nila, diba?
08:15.9
Dumidiskarte pa sa backdoor kasi yung iba eh.
08:18.5
Anyway, ano pa yung mga nakakita ng example?
08:20.3
So much so that you had to raise this in a formal statement.
08:23.8
Ano pa yung ibang napansin nyo?
08:26.1
Well, yung isang na-mention din na,
08:27.5
sa statement namin ay may member kami na nakapag-record ng attempted hack sa kanyang account.
08:34.9
But I have to clarify, Ian, at sinabi rin namin ito sa statement namin,
08:38.6
ang pinaflag lang ng Google or ng email server ay attempted hack from a government.
08:44.3
We don't really know which government it is, no?
08:48.2
So, that's just something to be mindful of.
08:53.0
It could be any government pretty much.
08:56.2
And that's why we added the qualifier na hindi pa clear ang source ng threats.
09:01.1
But if you put all of these cases together, then it's something just to be mindful about, no?
09:09.1
Hindi naman natin sinasabi that we don't want to throw people into a panic or say that this is something that people are falling for, ganyan.
09:18.9
Sa pagkakaalam naman namin na aagapan, quote-unquote, yung ganitong influence operations,
09:26.2
because people just don't fall for them, or journalists just don't fall for them, at least so far.
09:31.3
So, hindi pa gaano ka-sophisticated yung mga operations na ito, no?
09:37.4
There's an article that came out from the Foreign Publication Wired recently about why China is bad at disinformation operations.
09:48.2
Generally, like for example, in 2020, there was a network also that Facebook found
09:54.9
that was traced to China.
09:56.1
And it was a series of Facebook accounts na may AI na profile picture, promoting Chinese propaganda on West Philippine Sea,
10:08.0
also promoting certain politicians.
10:10.2
Pero madali silang nahanap.
10:13.1
So it's kind of, so far, if you have a keen eye, if you're able to know, and if you look at the emails that are reaching out to you,
10:23.3
if you look at yung trend,
10:26.1
madali naman sabihin na, okay, troll ito, or okay, hindi ito legit, no?
10:30.9
But the reason why we wanted to publicize this is just to make people aware that this is a phenomenon that is happening.
10:38.4
So that if it happens to you, it's like they're throwing stuff at the wall, no?
10:43.5
And they're seeing what sticks.
10:45.6
So people should know that this is actually happening.
10:48.8
So that if something lands on their inbox, alam nila that it could be something suspicious or spammy.
10:56.6
And we cannot underestimate China's capability as far as this information is concerned.
11:01.5
Ito, very concrete example.
11:02.7
Diba recently, merong lumabas na YouTube video, I don't know if you saw it, pero na-take down.
11:09.5
Dine-de-fake yung voice ni President Bongbong Marcos.
11:13.6
And basically, parang halos gusto niya mag-declare ng gera against China.
11:17.6
Yung parang, ano, ito dito, ordering military action.
11:22.3
Buti na-take down.
11:23.0
Kasi clearly peke, pero walang mukha yun, no?
11:27.3
Tapos yung sa mga mahilig dito sa NBA.
11:31.5
NBA, National Basketball Association.
11:34.5
Diba natala yung Lakers sa first round ng NBA playoffs against Denver.
11:40.3
Meron lumalabas na video si Lebron James at saka yung coach nila si Darvin Ham.
11:45.9
Sinisisi yung mga players, sinisisi yung isa't isa.
11:48.7
Na alam mo, ordinary hindi nila sasabihin.
11:51.2
Pero basically, that's a voice deep fake.
11:53.7
Ang galing ng bibig, no?
11:56.1
I-analyze mo yung bibig.
11:57.2
Mukha siyang, ano, very believable.
11:59.1
Boses ni Lebron James, boses ni Darvin Ham, the coach.
12:03.0
So yung ganyan, diba?
12:04.4
Siyempre, alam na naman ng China to eh.
12:06.4
Pero kumaga, hindi lahat may keen eye.
12:08.0
Lalo pag nakita agad, diba?
12:09.3
Tapos papasukan pa natin yung confirmation bias, diba?
12:12.9
Minsan, mahirap talaga mag-double check pag aligned yung napanood mo, nadinig mo, doon sa iniisip mo eh.
12:17.7
So yung pag ganyan, paano nyo ba dinidiskartehan yan?
12:21.2
Well, may mga ano, no, Ian, since na-mention mo na,
12:23.8
AI is just going to get smarter.
12:26.1
It's just going to get more sophisticated.
12:28.6
So kahit na sabihin natin yung mga operator, hindi masyadong sophisticated sa style nila,
12:33.7
the technology might become more sophisticated.
12:37.3
Kaya it's still important na mag-subscribe tayo sa mga mainstream media.
12:40.9
Kasi sila yung magpa-fact check talaga ng mga ganitong phenomenon.
12:45.4
Buti nga yung na-mention mo ang deepfake, naagapan nga siya.
12:48.5
Actually, hindi ko nga siyang napanood eh.
12:50.0
I just heard about it na lang on the news.
12:53.5
And tayo naman as journalists,
12:55.2
we should also be careful to kind of like strike a proper balance.
13:00.8
So yung advice ko siguro for journalists and even for government officials as well,
13:04.8
anyone who's working in this kind of information-spreading capacity na official,
13:10.7
it's very important na even when you're fact-checking something,
13:14.5
if you're calling out itong mga propaganda or ano,
13:17.5
huwag silang bigyan ng engagement.
13:19.3
So don't directly quote-tweet them sana or better to screen cap,
13:24.3
tapos lagyan ng graphic na parang fact-check type.
13:28.0
May mga ganong guidelines, di ba, pag fact-checker ka.
13:30.8
Because you don't want to drive traffic doon sa source ng disinformation.
13:37.7
So that's one way that journalists and people who spread information officially,
13:44.5
in an official capacity, can be mindful.
13:47.9
Doon sa grupo niyo, sa FUCAP,
13:51.0
concerned ba kayo na sa possible infiltration naman?
13:54.3
you are an organization of foreign news organizations covering Philippine issues, di ba?
14:01.0
Basically, paano kung ma-infiltrate naman kayo?
14:03.3
Kung nga rin ng Chinese spy,
14:05.0
nagpapanggap na journalist,
14:06.5
ano yung mga protocols niyo dyan, yung mga safeguards niyo?
14:09.7
Thorough naman yung application process ng FUCAP, I would say.
14:13.9
We have an application form and we have certain requirements for members to be able to stay in the org every year.
14:20.4
At isa doon sa mga requirements, Christian,
14:22.9
apart from the fact na kailangan,
14:24.3
practicing journalist ka at vetted ka by an agency,
14:29.9
is that you also have to be vetted by a board member or other people inside of the org.
14:35.1
So, this is a process na ina-approve ng board every year.
14:38.6
We really go through each of the members.
14:41.4
And we also need the endorsement of an agency as well.
14:46.0
So, parang may mga ganong process naman kami to avoid that from happening.
14:51.0
And I remember, di ba, there was an instance na pati kayo,
14:54.1
sinisin ng ano, journalist, hindi lang pala kayo, no?
14:57.1
Yung mga journalist na embedded doon sa mga resupply missions ng Pilipinas,
15:02.4
sa Ayungin, for instance,
15:04.5
ang sinasabi nung China, di ba, sa pahayag nila,
15:07.6
and nag-invento raw, manipulated yung mga images, whatever.
15:12.2
So, yung ganyan, paano ba dapat yung, ano ba yung approach ng FUCAP?
15:15.8
Kunwari, in-embed kayo doon sa resupply mission,
15:18.7
ano yung mindset niya going in?
15:22.0
So, it's just like,
15:24.1
like, the same as a local journalist, I would say, iyan.
15:27.1
Pero, syempre, sa FUCAP kasi,
15:29.4
for quite a while, hindi talagang pumapayag yung government na,
15:33.5
siguro for safety reasons or whatever other risk reasons, no?
15:38.6
It took a while for the government na pumayag na may foreigner talaga na mag-e-embed.
15:43.9
So, usually, kami yung nag-embed, yung mga Pinoy na staff,
15:46.9
or yung mga local na hire, on behalf of the foreign, ano.
15:50.9
In which case, it's the dynamic is really just,
15:53.9
like, reporting for a local outlet, no?
15:57.3
So, we go in, we immerse ourselves doon,
16:02.3
and we get to witness the same as what a local journalist would,
16:06.3
and as what the Coast Guard also does,
16:08.5
which is yung mga water cannon,
16:10.4
yung harassment, yung cutting ng China sa West Philippine Sea.
16:14.6
At kaya namin, nasabi iyan,
16:17.5
na-release namin yung statement na yun,
16:19.0
I think that was around last month,
16:21.0
or within the last couple of months,
16:22.5
na inakusahan kami,
16:23.9
nang Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman,
16:28.6
and ng embassy na naging-e-embed,
16:30.4
or minam-manipulate namin yung video,
16:32.8
masasabi namin na with confidence that that is simply not true.
16:36.2
And that's why we thought to release that statement.
16:38.8
Dahil ang isang embed in West Philippine Sea,
16:43.2
ay medyo buwis-buhay siya na assignment, no?
16:46.3
It's a high-risk hostile assignment.
16:49.2
And we've gone through the process.
16:51.4
We can definitely say,
16:52.7
um, that it's not true at all
16:55.6
that journalists invent or manipulate the video,
16:59.3
um, that you see out of the West Philippine Sea.
17:03.0
Wow. Buti malinaw yan, no?
17:04.4
Kasi isa yun sa mga ginagamit
17:05.8
to reinforce the disinformation by the Chinese side, no?
17:10.5
Well, anyway, maraming salamat sa iyo, Regine,
17:12.3
for joining us dito sa Facts First sa UILITEN, no?
17:16.0
Masayang kausap sa Regine.
17:17.3
Medyo formal lang siya ngayon, pero...
17:19.0
Maraming salamat, Ian.
17:21.2
If I can add siguro,
17:22.4
one thing also to remind you of, no?
17:25.6
Influence operations definitely, no,
17:27.8
will not stop anytime soon.
17:29.9
But what we can do is that
17:31.5
we can learn to identify them
17:33.1
and also inform ourselves.
17:35.1
Pero yung online influence operations,
17:37.4
isang aspect lang yan ng, ano,
17:39.4
isang aspect lang yan ng malign influence,
17:42.3
ng foreign interference.
17:43.8
Meron ding offline.
17:45.1
And baka nga in the Philippine context,
17:47.3
that's something that we should watch out for more.
18:21.8
Thank you for watching!
