Category Archives: Social Media

The Editorialization Of Rappler News Stories

Ah, Rappler, the master of editorializing in the world of news! 

While some outlets strive for objectivity and balanced reporting, Rappler has taken a bold step in a different direction. They’ve truly mastered the art of turning even the most mundane news story into a sensational headline. It’s as if they have a team of overenthusiastic clickbait writers on speed dial, ready to transform every minor event into a catastrophic world crisis.

Rappler’s headlines read like melodramatic soap opera teasers, leaving readers wondering if they stumbled upon a news site or a tabloid. “Local Cat Rescues Kitten Stuck in Tree – Is this the End of Feline Independence?” they might scream, as if the fate of the entire cat kingdom rests on this one heroic rescue mission.

But hey, who needs boring old facts and balanced reporting when you can have headlines that make your heart race and your eyeballs pop? Thank you, Rappler, for giving us the daily dose of sensationalism we never knew we needed.

The Ever-Imaginative Raissa Robles

Ah, Raissa Robles, the self-proclaimed historian with an imaginary flair for storytelling. Her desperate attempts to salvage her flop of a book on the Marcos Martial Law era are nothing short of comical. 

What was meant to be an objective historical account turned out to be a patchwork of her own biases and an unabashed hatred for the First Family. It’s almost as if she majored in “imaginative writing” at the University of the Philippines, not history. Oh, wait, she did!

But Robles’ hopes took a nosedive with the resurgence of Bongbong Marcos. Her “Never Again” premise crumbled faster than her book’s sales. She now pleads for her critics and unsuspecting readers to visit her book at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, conveniently housed in a museum. Hysterical indeed, as her work belongs more in the realm of fiction than in the annals of history.

Perhaps Filipinos could find better use for her unsold copies – like using them as barbecue grill kindling for holiday cookouts or fuel for a bonfire to keep warm during the cold December nights. After all, why waste precious firewood on a book that’s already gone up in smoke?

Fact-Checking Jay Sonza

Broadcast journalist-turned-blogger Jay Sonza posted some “breaking news” on his social media account, claiming that U.S. Congress rejected US President Joe Biden’s request for war aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and the Philippines, while accurately reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives approved $14.5 billion in assistance to Israel

The problem with Sonza’s post is that Biden’s request of $105 billion in war aid, of which the $14 billion aid to Israel was part of, never included anything for the Philippines.

Furthermore, Congress has approved the Israel funding but has not (yet) rejected those for Ukraine, Taiwan, U.S. border security and other humanitarian aid.

Where did Sonza get his information?