Unkabogable Star Vice Ganda recently spoke out against the misuse of dummy accounts for online harassment.
This came during the ‘EXpecially For You’ segment on ‘It’s Showtime,’ where a couple, Althea from Montalban, Rizal, and her ex-boyfriend Arvie from Bacoor, Cavite, shared their unique love story.
The couple revealed that their relationship began during the COVID-19 pandemic through their dummy Facebook accounts.
Althea explained, “Kasi po ‘yung account po na ‘yun, nagkakilala po kasi kami around pandemic. So, siyempre, kami po mga bored, bored po. ‘Tapos nauso po ‘yung dummy accounts, pareho po kami [may] dummy accounts.”
Vice Ganda, intrigued by their story, asked, “Bakit, bakit nagdu-dummy accounts? Nang ba-bash kayo, ‘no?”
He then elaborated on how dummy accounts are often used for malicious purposes, saying, “May mga dummy accounts kasi binabayaran ‘yan. Gagawa sila ng maraming account, ‘tapos sila magco-comment sa bawat post. Para ‘yung first 100 posts, yung first 100 posts puro nega ‘yung malalagay nila, kasi ‘yun na ‘yung condition nun.”
Althea clarified the intention behind her dummy account, stating, “Tumitingin po ako ng mga random memes na hindi dumadaan sa real account ko. ‘Yung real account ko po, naka-focus kasi siya sa schools ganun. Tapos ‘yung mga stuff niya doon, puro serious stuff talaga.”
Vice Ganda responded, “Alam mo ‘pag lumabas sa algorithm mo magtutuloy-tuloy. So, meron kang pino-project na dapat ito lang lumalabas sa algorithm ko, when in fact, may iba kang gusto. Pagtatago ganun!”
He continued, “Para hindi mabukayo yung mga ibang trip mo at saka sa dummy account mo, hindi ka kilala nung mga friends and followers mo. So, ano man sabihin mo dun o maipapakita dun, hindi ka nila kilala kung sino ka. Maraming ganiyan, kumukuha ng lakas ng loob at tapang.”
Despite the potential for misuse, Althea assured viewers that she never used her dummy account for negative purposes. “Pero hindi ko naman po siya na-use to magbigay ng hatred parang ‘yung gusto ko lang talaga matawa-tawa ganun. Pero, parang hindi ko naman siya nagamit sa negative ways,” she explained.
