Part 2 of two parts

Exclusive by Raïssa Robles

The Duterte administration has gone out of its way to target and deride professional media. Facebook propagandists such as Mocha Uson and Jimmy Bondoc, as well as their thousands of followers, regularly belittle journalists as “presstitutes” and “bayaran.” They claim the mainstream press shouldn’t be believed because all reporters are on the take.

Yet when those Duterte supporters and propagandists (including entertainers-turned-government officials) held a press conference on March 28, they apparently didn’t hesitate to pay off the media they mocked. [read more].