Duterte praise, Philippine election spin driven by fake accounts: Study

A man carrying a placard with a cutout of an image of Duterte behind bars, during the 80th birthday of Duterte, who remains in ICC custody for war crimes allegations, in Manila on March 28, 2025. - Reuters

BANGKOK: A sophisticated network of fake social media accounts sprang to the impassioned defence of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after he was sent to the International Criminal Court to face charges over his bloody drug war.

Around a third of accounts discussing the arrest on the platform X, mostly praising Duterte and lambasting the court, were fake, according to research shared with Reuters by a tech firm that termed it a “deliberate, organised” campaign.