Block, delete or bounty?

Back in the ’60s, we were all taught a rhyme to get back at nasty people who say bad things to spite or insult us. That rhyme was: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me.”

But in today’s reality, one has to ask if that is enough, when attacked by ghost keyboard warriors paid to harass particular individuals or organizations. How do you get back at an invisible enemy or the mastermind of trolls?

In terms of ghost keyboard warriors and trolls, no one is spared and sadly our legislators, the NBI and regulators can’t, won’t or don’t know what to do about the situation.

One particular individual who is fed up with the disinformation and cyberlibel is the CEO of San Miguel Corporation, Ramon Ang, who has been the target of competitors, shakedown artists, “pretend media” and trolls.

Beginning with the Skyway, the NAIA, MRT and now the SMC Bulacan Airport, San Miguel Corporation and Ramon Ang have consistently been on the receiving end of disinformation, false claims and even character assassination.

While constructing parts of the Skyway, MRT, NAIA-X, the projects have been targeted with bad publicity and disinformation because losing bidders, PR people, as well as local politicians wanted to have a piece of the action or be on board.

With the NNIC or NAIA Rehabilitation, one or two losing bidders, a couple of former and present locators thought that if they caused Ramon Ang enough grief in the project, he would accommodate or buy peace.

For his part, RSA has been open and transparent with members of the media and government regulators, regularly calling press conferences and engaging in unguarded conversations with the media.

Unlike other companies, Ramon Ang personally engages with the media and the public instead of designating spokespersons or PR practitioners. Unfortunately, none of these matters to people whose only goal is to lie, discredit and destroy personal or corporate reputations.

These destructive activities should not only be considered “acts of cyber libel” but also as economic sabotage. Such lies and disinformation mislead people, affect investor confidence and disrupt cooperation between businesses and the government.

It is ridiculous that the NBI, Sen. Ping Lacson, etc. are preoccupied finding fault and evidence against political opponents of the administration while being blind to the damaging, destructive economic sabotage inflicted by troll farms and operators.

So, what can be done? For the most part, people would say just block, ignore or delete the troll or put up your own troll farm or hire the services of a specialist capable of making life difficult for the trolls.

Or you could do what Ramon Ang did almost a month ago – he offered a P1-million bounty to the media and the public for anyone who can point to the mastermind or troll farmer who has been attacking and lying about the SMC Bulacan Airport.

This is life imitating art, reminding me of the Mel Gibson movie “Ransom” where a super-rich executive decided to turn the tables on the kidnappers of his son, turning the ransom demand into a $2-million bounty on the kidnappers!

“No ransom will ever be paid for my son. Instead, I’m offering this money as a reward on your head, dead or alive, it does not matter. So, congratulations, you’ve just become a $2-million lottery ticket.”

In real life, I’ve been told of a father who discovered that his daughter was a victim of serious online harassment which practically drove the girl to suicide. The father reportedly sought the help of a retired Israeli cybercrime expert to track the culprits, which they did within a few months, and had them jailed.

It certainly reminds me of the unforgettable lines of Liam Neeson in the movie “Taken:”

“I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for a ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career.

“Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you. And I will kill you.”

Switching back to real life concerns, what Ramon Ang did, declaring a P1-million bounty on a troll farm operator or its client is definitely a game changer. But he should not stop there. RSA has more than enough business colleagues who have been victimized by black propaganda.

Now is the best time to put together a Counter Cyber Libel fund devoted to the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of cyber libel operators and advocates.

It is commonly believed that in the campaign against smuggling, counterfeit products and theft of intellectual property, the affected businesses or brands have provided incentives to informers and law enforcers, which is why smugglers are regularly raided and apprehended.

Whether or not they have been targeted by trolls and disinformation, it would be best if major corporations and business leaders contributed to such a fund to end this form of economic sabotage. All you need are a few successful convictions to discourage troll attacks.

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