HRW: State forces 'actively use social media' for red-tagging

[snoop1130]

This screen capture shows a since-deleted tweet by the Batangas Maritime Police Station using the hashtags 'NinoyNotAHero' and 'NinoyNPA'.

 

MANILA, Philippines — The military, police and other national security forces "actively used social media" to red-tag or baselessly accuse individuals of being members of the armed communist insurgency, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

 

Membership in an activist group is not the same as membership in or even support for the Communist Party of the Philippines or the New People's Army but activism has often been conflated in the Philippines with terrorism and of being an enemy of the state.

 

The New York-based watchdog said red-tagging puts those accused "at heightened risk of attack by the security forces or unidentified gunmen" and in some cases has actually resulted in their killing by unknown gunmen. Police and military officials have repeatedly claimed that their labeling is actually "truth tagging".

 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/01/12/2237128/hrw-state-forces-actively-use-social-media-red-tagging

 

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