Historical distortion regarding Ferdinand Marcos

The distortion, falsification, or whitewashing of the historical record regarding Ferdinand Marcos,[1][2] sometimes referred to using the phrases "historical denialism," "historical negationism," or sometimes erroneously "historical revisionism,"[3][4] is an academically documented phenomenon[5] linked to the return of Marcos' immediate family and political allies to government positions,[6][7][8] as well as the hero's burial of Marcos himself in 2016.[5] It continues Marcos' own efforts to create a cult of personality for himself, which in itself involved various forms of historical distortion.[9][10]

This article is about historical distortion, denialism, and negationism after the events of Marcos' life. For propaganda perpetuated by Marcos himself, see Ferdinand Marcos' cult of personality.

Some of the earlier examples of distortion involved various instances of historical denialism by the remaining Marcos family members and their followers, which involved trivializing of the human rights violations and economic plunder that took place during the Marcos administration, as well as the role played by the Marcos children in the administration.[11][12][13]

More recently, various studies have uncovered systematic disinformation campaigns run by top public relations firm executives,[14][15] efforts to create a false impression of a scholarly body of pro-Marcos literature,[16] and the systematic use of click armies and digital black ops to spread strategic disinformation on social media.[17]

Organized disinformation efforts and use of troll accounts

In 2018, Dr. Jason Cabañes of the University of Leeds School of Media and Communication and Dr. Jonathan Corpus Ong of the University of Massachusetts Amherst released a study of organized disinformation efforts in the Philippines, titled "Architects of Networked Disinformation: Behind the Scenes of Troll Accounts and Fake News Production in the Philippines."[14][15][17] Based on participant observation in Facebook community groups and Twitter accounts, as well as key informant interviews with 20 "disinformation architects," conducted from December 2016 to December 2017, the study described a "professionalized and hierarchized group of political operators who design disinformation campaigns, mobilize click armies, and execute innovative "digital black ops" and "signal scrambling" techniques for any interested political client."[5] This network had "ad and PR strategists at the top."[14]

The Ong and Cabañes study also described how techniques for "personal branding" were used to "tell a revisionist account of the 20-year Marcos regime as 'the golden age of the Philippines,'" using such tools as YouTube videos, "in a bid to restore the political luster of the Marcos family."[5]

Role in the Marcos burial
See also: Burial of Ferdinand Marcos

One of the revelations from the Ong and Cabañes' 2018 study was the existence of "Ilibing Na" ("Bury now") campaign designed to create public support for a hero's burial for Ferdinand Marcos using "diversionary tactics to elude allegations of human rights violations and corruption during the term of Ferdinand Marcos"[5] and launching "digital black ops that targeted prominent critics" of the Marcoses, particularly vice president Leni Robredo.[5]

Spread of disinformation

A 2020 study from the University of the Philippines Diliman found that "the Marcoses, their loyalists, and their allies" had produced and reproduced disinformation for years, intending to create an impression that the propaganda had actually come from a reputable community of scholars.[16]

A related study published that year by Vera Files found 119 claims about the Marcoses that had been debunked by various news organizations, and examined how they were distributed.[18] Although a number of pro-Marcos propaganda "sourcebooks" had been published in 2000, the study found that about 72% of confirmed Marcos disinformation originated directly from social media, rather than print sources. Specifically, it found out that 21% of these were "distributed via social media" and "not attributable to pro-Marcos books"; 20% of them came from a person quoted by media, which cannot traced to a preexisting text; and about 31% were about recent events. Only about 15% could be traced to text in various propaganda books, while a remaining 13% consisted of "general claims."[18]

Propaganda narratives

Common propaganda approaches associated with Marcos-related historical distortion[19] include:

  • Exaggeration of the Marcos administration’s achievements[19][20]
  • False dichotomies between Marcos and other presidents, notably the two Aquino presidents[19][21]
  • A narrative of a “hidden history” kept by a “biased” press[19][22]
  • Denial or belittling of Martial Law abuses[19]

Portrayal in media
See also: List of films about martial law under Ferdinand Marcos, The Kingmaker (film), Respeto, and Citizen Jake

Aside from films directly featuring the Marcos era itself, the theme of contemporary historical distortion regarding Ferdinand Marcos has been featured significantly in numerous films, including Philippine films Respeto, Citizen Jake, and ML.

A prominent international documentary on the same theme was Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker, which follows the events of Imelda Marcos' life, first exploring the time when the Marcoses were still in power, and then in the second half of the film, focusing on the political comeback of the Marcos family after Ferdinand Marcos had died, and highlighing the stories of those who had survived abuses during Martial Law.[23] Greenfield’s exploration characterizes Imelda Marcos as the documentary’s unreliable narrator,[24][25][26] but takes on what the New York Times calls a “dialectic” approach, allowing Imelda to literally tell her narrative and slowly introducing opposing viewpoints as the movie progresses.[27]

Various universities in the Philippines have released various publications and have held numerous academic fora regarding the topic, referring to it as historical denialism, negationism, disinformation, or distortion.[28]

See also

References
  1. "Philippine government faces backlash amid claims it is trying to whitewash history of late dictator Marcos". September 12, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  2. Villamor, Felipe (November 8, 2016). "Philippines Can Give Hero's Burial to Ferdinand Marcos, High Court Rules". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  3. "Martial law and historical revisionism: A holistic understanding". April 30, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  4. "A Manual for Historical Revisionists". Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  5. Ong, Jonathan Corpus; Cabañes, Jason Vincent A. (2018). "Architects of Networked Disinformation: Behind the Scenes of Troll Accounts and Fake News Production in the Philippines" (PDF). www.newtontechfordev.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  6. "EDSA People Power: Inadequate Challenge to Marcos Revisionism". Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  7. Hernando-Malipot, Merlina (September 7, 2018). "UP faculty vows to fight historical revisionism". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  8. de Ynchausti, Nik (September 23, 2016). "Why has Marcos' propaganda lived on?". Esquire Magazine Philippines. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  9. Root, Hilton L., Three Asian Dictators: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (January 16, 2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2716732 Archived 2021-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Mark M. Turner (1990) Authoritarian rule and the dilemma of legitimacy: The case of President Marcos of the Philippines, The Pacific Review, 3:4, 349–362, DOI: 10.1080/09512749008718886
  11. "Report of an Amnesty International Mission to the Republic of the Philippines 22 November – 5 December 1975" (PDF). Amnesty International Publications. September 1976. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  12. "PCGG welcomes Singapore court decision on Marcos' Swiss funds". Rappler. January 4, 2015. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  13. Ayee Macaraig (August 26, 2015). "Marcos on dad's regime: What am I to apologize for?". Rappler. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  14. "Fake news production and social media 'trolls'". University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  15. Cabico, Gaea Katreena. "Ad, PR execs are 'chief architects' of disinformation in Philippines — study". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  16. "Disinformation researchers unpack the game of lies and its impact on democracy". Rappler. Archived from the original on 2021-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  17. "Chief disinformation architects in the PH: Not exactly who you think". Rappler. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  18. Berdos, Enrico (December 11, 2020). "Propaganda web: Pro-Marcos literature, sites, and online disinformation linked". ABS CBN News and Public Affairs. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  19. Mendoza, Gemma B. Networked propaganda: False narratives from the Marcos arsenal NOV 22, 2019 https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/networked-propaganda-false-narratives-from-the-marcos-arsenal Archived 2021-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Wiki warriors: activists fighting to keep truth of brutal Marcos regime in Philippines alive". the Guardian. August 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  21. "The story of martial law from Ferdinand Marcos' confidante and press secretary". cnn. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  22. "What you didn't know: Pro-Marcos propaganda too hip for its own good". Rappler. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
  23. Bentley, Jean; Bentley, Jean (2019-10-14). "Will Imelda Marcos Documentary 'The Kingmaker' Play in the Philippines?". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  24. Enos, Morgan (2019-11-08). "'The Kingmaker' Tackles the Truths and 'Horrors' Surrounding Imelda Marcos". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  25. Wilkinson, Alissa (2019-11-14). "How to make a damning documentary about a world-class liar". Vox. Archived from the original on 2019-11-15. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  26. Miller, Julie (2019-11-08). "The Kingmaker: Inside Imelda Marcos's Grand, Present-Day Delusions". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  27. Dargis, Manohla (2019-11-06). "'The Kingmaker' Review: The Power and Vainglory of Imelda Marcos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  28. Subingsubing, Krixia (2020-09-22). "Revisionism, denialism: Academics explain views on Marcos era". Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
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