Noticed something about your Facebook page over the past few months? You must have. They were inescapable. As a Buzz Lightyear meme would put it, “Political posts. Political posts everywhere.” With global digital agency WeAreSocial reporting that the Philippines has 48 million active social media users (with 40% of that number on mobile), online platforms amplified, inflamed, and engaged our political passions. And despite all those friendships that have been brought to the endangered list (a moment of silence, please, for all those pals we’ve unfollowed), this undoubtedly became a democratically good thing: the Comelec recorded a historic voter turnout of 84%, according to the Manila Bulletin. That’s 7% higher than the previous elections. Hashtags played a crucial role in shaping the social media electioneering. “The right hashtag unites people, functioning as a ‘rallying cry’ for any campaign,” explains Rica Oquias, head of social media and digital marketing at M2.0 [...]
