When news outlets posted on Facebook about celebrity calls to “#SaveMasungi”, their posts drew the attention of the small army of fake accounts identified by the BBC.
Under those posts, they left comments defending the environment department’s proposal and attacking celebrities like DiCaprio over their intervention.
“Don’t be a loser Leonardo,” wrote one user.
“The DENR saw sketchy behaviour a long time ago,” posted another.
In addition, several of these accounts went on to share content from the DENR’s own social media accounts, or from pages supportive of the department’s work.
The DENR denies having any links to these accounts and pages.
But the department plays a dual role in the Philippines, which critics say is contradictory: it issues mining and quarrying permits, while also employing hundreds of forest rangers to protect the Sierra Madre, the country’s longest mountain range.
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The BBC asked Meta about the accounts that seemed to be operating as an organised network, and the company confirmed that a cluster of accounts was engaging in inauthentic activity.
It took down most of the accounts and pages identified as part of the BBC investigation, saying they “engaged in deceptive, spammy activity, including amplifying content using fake accounts to make it appear more popular than it was”.
But it stopped short of linking this network to any third party.
“It seems like we’re being ganged up on by local politicians together with some people from the DENR, together with their cohorts in these destructive industries,” says Ms Dumaliang from the Masungi Geoserve Foundation.
The environment department denies this claim.
In a statement, the DENR told the BBC it had “no involvement in any social media campaign, activity, or other online tactics aimed at influencing public opinion in a negative manner”. It also described its communication efforts as transparent, accurate and fair.
While we do not know who ultimately controlled the network of accounts and pages, the BBC found evidence linking one individual to the campaign.
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