Howie Severino Presents

Has your feed been invaded — by China, America, or any other foreign power? How can you tell?

Open-source intelligence analyst Giano Libot explains how foreigners shape and influence public opinion in the Philippines. He discusses how a recent statement by AFP Chief Romeo Brawner was taken out of context and went viral, showing how narratives can be twisted and amplified online.

This is the third and final episode in Howie Severino’s special series on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

Libot and Severino unpack how local influencers and bot networks can spread propaganda that originates from foreign state media. Together, they explore how this kind of online meddling undermines trust, distorts public debate, and threatens our democracy.

Don’t miss the full conversation—and stay tuned for a special upcoming episode on heritage conservation!

In China's influence operations in the world, the Philippines ranked 7th in 2022, according to the study the China Index. In 2024, the Philippines went down the ranking to number 29.

Analyst Janina Santos from Doublethink Lab, a think tank that studies Foreign Information Manipulation Interference or FIMI, unpacks China's online influence in the world and how this has pervaded our everyday lives affecting media, the academe, and domestic politics.  

What does China's influence operations threaten? She explains to Howie Severino in this second installment to a special 3-part series on foreign actors and disinformation.

In today’s information battlefield, outside forces are waging influence campaigns using proxies, propaganda, and falsehoods to sway public opinion.

This tactic is known as Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

How does FIMI threaten democracies around the world? What’s happening in the Philippines? 

Prof. Rachel Khan of the University of the Philippines breaks it down.

This is Part 1 of a three-part special series uncovering how foreign actors meddle in Philippine politics through disinformation.