Why Rappler deserves to close

Rappler was hiring trolls.

In the recent events, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines revoked Rappler's right to operate as an online mass media. This is due to Rappler's issues of ownership as it is funded by two foreign entities, namely Omidyar Network and North Base Media. But why Rappler deserves to close?

Red flag registration at SEC

Rappler registered as an online mass media company back in 2011. Due to lack of funding, Rappler opened its doors to Omidyar Network Fund (ONF) in 2013 and North Base Media (NBM) in 2014. This is illegal since the Philippine Constitution does not allow foreign ownership on local media, so what Rappler Inc. did was to create a corporate dummy named Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC), which will not be categorized as a media entity to flow in the funds from foreigners. Although the organization does not claim to be a mass media, its activities, like petitioning to court to be on equal footing with other media entities during the electoral debates, raises eyebrows.

Issues surrounding one of its funders

Another red flag for Rappler is that its funder, Omidyar Network Fund, has controversies surrounding it, like how the funding network helped the Ukraine revolution with the US. Omidyar has been funding independent journalists from all over the globe, generation controversies on its political meddlings on the international scale. Rappler also stated that they do not allow management from its funders, but obvious hindsight point that the online media is biased against the Duterte administration (who was vocal against the US) and have proven to be spreading fake news. Of course, no one would believe that Omidyar does not have a hand in Rappler's obvious tirades against the Philippine President, a subtle way of interfering with the affairs of a sovereign nation. They have done it before, they can do it again.

Rappler is incompetent and bias

Aside from insisting that paid bots and trolls put Duterte to Malacañan, netizens have spotted fake news from Rappler. One was the distorted data where their article shows fake War on Drugs data, opposite to what the Philippine National Police (PNP) has given them. There are other articles Rappler journalists have written that have been debunked online. Rappler was once a sorority blog and became a 'media' because of Maria Ressa, who blamed trolls, bots, and Facebook for their demise. Maria Ressa once said that she will take back the internet which she does not own. 

They are now playing the victim card, stating that the administration is turning into a dictatorship, cries harassment, and oppresses their press freedom. But the National Press Club of the Philippines, under Paul M. Gutierrez, on his Facebook account, rebutted Rappler, saying that Responsible Journalism’ means complying with the law. 

Here is also an additional statement by the NPC:

“There are about 436 television broadcast stations, 411 AM radio stations, over 1,000 FM radio stations and more than 400 newspapers today operating freely in the country besides those that now have proliferated in social media and whose actual number no one really has any idea.

“To say that the fate of one media entity found to have run afoul with the law translates to media repression in the country is stretching the argument a bit too much,” Gutierrez said. [Facebook]

Yes, Rappler deserves to die, and despite the fact they can still petition the court about the SEC ruling proves that democracy is still alive, contrary to what they claim.