Liza Soberano also bared that “LizQuen” fans have received offers to buy their online fan accounts from unknown individuals.
In a tweet on July 22, Soberano shared that she noticed “random accounts” seeking to acquire these online accounts. However, she believed in the loyalty of her fans.
“Saw that some random accounts are trying to buy some LizQuen fan accounts,” the actress said.
“Nice try but, LizQuen can’t be bought. Mighty proud of all of you,” she added.
Saw that some random accounts are trying to buy some LizQuen fan accounts. Nice try but, LizQuen can’t be bought. Mighty proud of all of you ❤️
— Liza Soberano (@lizasoberano) July 22, 2020
Through Instagram stories early this week, Bea Alonzo and Angel Locisn disclosed that some of their fan pages have been receiving similar offers to buy their accounts.
The Kapamilya actresses expressed alarm over the similar as the offers came after the permanent shutdown of their home network.
READ: ‘You be the judge’: Bea Alonzo, Angel Locsin alarmed by offers to buy their fan pages
Alonzo added that fan accounts of her peers also received similar offers on the same day.
“What’s happening??” Locsin asked.
These developments came a week after the historic verdict of seventy lawmakers last July 10 wherein they denied ABS-CBN’s application for a fresh application, thus permanently shutting down its radio, television and digital businesses.
This subsequently cost the livelihood of more than 11,000 workers and affected millions of more subscribers across the country.
Only 11 lawmakers voted for the renewal of the broadcast giant’s franchise while two inhibited and one abstained.
Locsin, Alonzo, and Soberano are also among the proactive defenders of ABS-CBN and the rights of its workers both online and out on the streets.
Other observations
While the motive behind these activities is still uncertain, some Filipinos coincidentally noticed that official accounts of some politicians were former fan accounts of celebrities and brands.
Today’s Carolinian, the official student publication of the University of San Carlos, shared that the page of Deputy Speaker Luis Ray Villafuerte, who filed a resolution that seeks to temporarily use ABS-CBN’s previous frequency, was a former fan page of actor Jake Vargas.
“The page of Governor Migz Villafuerte, son of Cong. Lray Villafuerte, was also once a different page. The page was created on Jan. 9, 2014 as ‘McDonald’s Sexret files’ then was renamed to ‘Gov Migz Villafuerte 2016’ on Nov. 12, 2015,” the post read.
Solon's Facebook Page Was Once A Jake Vargas Fan PageNetizens have discovered that Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte's…
Posted by Today's Carolinian on Tuesday, July 21, 2020
A cursory check of Interaksyon confirmed these findings.
Another Twitter user found that a group page that supports President Rodrigo Duterte was formerly a fan account of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.
Duterte Supporters page "True News Stories" was formerly known as "True Fans of KathNiel". Matagal na pala nilang gawain ang bumili ng fanpages. @bernardokath @imdanielpadilla @ABSCBNNews @rapplerdotcom aware ba kayo? Next Lray Villafuerte sa reply ko.#EverydayKath pic.twitter.com/oHFUKIdQ6V
— JAY ARR (@JAYARR_Official) July 21, 2020
A quick look also showed that the original name of the profile is “True Fans of Kathniel.”
The page called True News Stories currently has more than 43,000 followers and 42,000 likes.
For propaganda to the coming elections
In an interview with ANC, Alan German, president of Agents International Public Relations, explained that the fan accounts of celebrities could be used as propaganda for the coming 2022 elections.
German said that personalities who are more vocal in their criticisms against the ABS-CBN shutdown and their big loyal fan bases are attractive targets right now.
“For me, it’s just gearing up for 2022, I would think..suddenly if a politician buys it, number 1, you inherit the eyeballs. So whatever propaganda you will want to put on that page, automatically you have a captive audience and again, it creates a halo, ‘Oh the star is endorsing me,’””he said.
German also noted that once bought, changes in the profiles could be abrupt or subtle.
“Pedeng paunti paunti, not a hard sell. For a brander, for a PR guy, if that was my candidate—I’m not saying would do that necessarily—but that’s my preferred approach,” he said.
Given that these artists normally have no control over their fan accounts, they could issue a disclaimer to their fans and supporters.
“If I were the celebrity, I would issue a statement on my own page saying that ‘please be wary of fanpages that are spreading or are posting certain political inclinations.’ It could be like ‘my political thoughts are expressed only on my page,’” he said.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, a cybersecurity expert also echoed that purchasing fan accounts with the huge following could be used for the 2022 polls.
“Whoever has the most number of followers in fan pages, they could probably get a huge amount of payment also, every time they post something on a specific candidate,” Angel Rodable said.
