Geotag of Philippines as China province stirs row

  DUBAI – A geotag on Facebook that identifies the Philippine as “Province of China” has sparked controversy, with social media users split on the issue. Some users found it hilarious, while others said it was “infuriating”. The geotag “Philippines, Province of China” was still not deleted as of Tuesday (May 19) and had gotten 16,205 check-ins.
How to check the geotag 1. Click on Create Post 2. Click on ellipsis icon (…) 3. Click on Check In 4. Choose from Dropdown Menu
In his post, Gem Cabreros asked netizens how he could report the malicious tag to Facebook and “have it removed”. The sentiment was echoed by Facebook users Gemma Agudo and Jerome Tanaka, who said the wrong geotag is the handiwork of “worthless” individuals. “It’s just a joke,” another social media user commented. Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros condemned the geotag, saying that it should be taken seriously even though it was believed to be a joke. Hontiveros said the sound of the phrase was as “infuriating” as having Filipino fishermen bullied by Chinese in the West Philippine Sea. She encouraged mass reporting to remove the geotag from the options for users as they try to pin the location of their posts on social media. “Even if this Philippines Province of China geotag is just a joke, let’s not allow this to be normalized. Let’s mass report,” she said on Twitter. China has continued to show force in disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. In April, China announced it created two “new districts” in the disputed area, which includes the Paracel island group near Vietnam and the Spratly island group in the West Philippine Sea. Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he does not think Chinese nationals would take the geotag seriously but warned consequences against them if they do. “You’re giving it importance. Chinese are too smart to believe that crap; any of them tries coming over without a visa from me and he’ll be detained and sent back where he came from at his own expense. At the rate you’re all going, they will have 110 million check-ins,” he said on Twitter. Users can easily create a new geotag through their social media apps by simply clicking “add location” and typing a new location to add to the existing options. The issue has also reached the Philippine government, with Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque calling on Facebook’s fact-verifiers Vera Files and Rappler to flag the geotag. Roque said the geotag is “clearly” fake news. “I am calling the attention of Vera Files and Rappler because they are the fact verifiers of Facebook. How did this slip past them?” he said. ICA/PNA/Expat Media
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