Editorial: Malicious attack

JEERS to the trolls for targeting a Mindanao-based journalist for merely reporting the alleged massacre of seven peasants by the military on September 13.

Veteran journalist Julie Alipala of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, former director of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), was just doing her damn job.

Journalists don’t fabricate stories and distort the facts to publish it as the truth. It’s what the trolls and paid hacks do, not the media.

Facebook page Phil Leaks, in a post, accused Alipala of being a paid propagandist of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf following her report.

The same report was also carried out by other media entities.

NUJP stressed that Alipala merely reported on the claims made by the victims’ families that they were civilians simply out to harvest fruit crops when arrested and later killed by the military.

“Our colleague’s life is endangered by the irresponsible claim and criminal act of the creators and administrators of this social media group,” NUJP said.

NUJP also demand that government authorities, including the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to “investigate this attack and prosecute the perpetrators.” They also demand to take down the page of Phil Leaks.

The problem with this administration and its supporters is it doesn’t tolerate dissent.

Critical reporting is viewed as a black propaganda, intending to destabilize the government.

The post against Alipala is just one of the many attacks hurled against journalists who are just doing their work.

Apparently, the administration and its trolls want the media to lie to the public to serve to their whims and caprices.

The media landscape in the country has transformed into a hostile environment for journalists who report critical stories against the government.

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