Episode 3: Conversation with Dr. Jonathan Corpus Ong

Feb 26 2023 • 43 mins

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Jonathan Ong about the spreading of disinformation and who some of the actors are in this space. He describes how he began his research on social media as a result of three key elections in 2016 that were occurring in the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The purpose of his research is to understand how trolling works, who trollers are, where they come from and what are the moral justifications for the work they do. He examines the human aspects of the people behind fake news.

As an ethnographer by training, Jonathan examines the mistruths that people working on political campaigns use intentionally misleading speech in digital spaces to provoke fear or enrage. He acknowledges the power of social media in shaping the conversation, but he does not believe that digital campaigns can ‘ruin democracy’ through brainwashing effects. Dr. Ong takes a critical look at social media as an important battleground for organizing and disinformation campaigns. By discussing his research and podcast “Catch Me if You Can,” in the Philippines, Dr. Ong breaks down stereotypes about who trollers are through interviews. He discovers that many of those who work as trollers in the Philippines are educated and do this as an additional source of income, sometimes without prior knowledge of their assignments. The lack of clarity around some assignments causes Jonathan to question the ethics behind companies not informing. One interesting point made during this podcast that arises from Jonathan’s research is that some trolls were not politically affiliated. This episode is hosted by Rowena Azada-Palacios, Stella Cheong, and Kamille Beye. We hope that all listeners enjoy this episode!

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast through Apple, Google, Spotify or Amazon Music. You may also follow @c4c_ed on Twitter; we look forward to hearing your feedback and your stories. If you would like to explore the possibility of participating in our podcast, do not hesitate to reach out through the online participation form or email us at info@conversations4citizenship.com.

List of further readings

Ong, J.C. (2022). Trolls for Sale. Manila, Philippines: Everything’s Fine Books.
Ong, J.C. & Donovan, J. (eds.). (2023, forthcoming) Special Issue: "True Costs of Misinformation: Counting the Casualties of 'Fake News'". International Journal of Communication.
Grohmann, R. & Ong, J.C. (eds). (2023, forthcoming). Special Issue: "Disinformation-for-Hire and Clickfarming around the World". Social Media + Society.
Ong, J.C. & Negra, D (eds). (2020). Special Issue: "Intellectual and Institutional Turbulence in Media Studies: 20th Anniversary Issue of Television & New Media". Television & New Media 21: 6.
Ong, J.C. (2022). “Philippine Elections 2022: The Dictator’s Son and the Discourse Around Disinformation”. Journal of Contemporary Southeast Asia.December 2022 issue, pp. 396-403.
Ong, J.C. & Tapsell, R. (2022). "Demystifying disinformation shadow economies: Fake News Work Models in Indonesia and the Philippines". Asian Journal of Communication 32(3): 251-267.
Ong, J.C. (2021). "The Secondary Contagion of Stigmatization: Racism and Discrimination in the Pandemic Moment". Social Science Research Council Media Well. https://mediawell.ssrc.org/literature-reviews/the-contagion-of-stigmatization-racism-and-discrimination-in-the-infodemic-moment/versions/1-0/
Ong, J.C. & Lanuza, J.M. (2023, forthcoming). “The Perils of Platform Determinism: Reimagining Global South Disinformation Interventions”. In Tworek, H., Nyabola, N. & Owen, T. (eds.). Platform Governance in Global Context. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ong, J.C. (2022). "Political Trolls and the Global Digital Precariat". In Briers, A., Carah, N., & Arden, H. (eds.). Conflict in My Outlook. Queensland, Australia: Perimeter Books.
Ong, J.C. (2021). “Ethnography in Humanitarian Communication.” In Chouliaraki, L. & Vestergaard, A. (eds.). Routledge Handbook of Humanitarian Communication. London & New York: Routledge.