We talk about flood control—but who controls online conversations?

When thousands joined the September 21 rally, the debate didn't just happen in the streets.

- BY YANRO FERRER

Photo courtesy of Philippine Weather System/ Pacific Storm Update

It spilled online, where hashtags trended, posts circulated, and heated comment threads rose and sank. The same thing is happening with the flood-control issue: social media became the stage where citizens shared frustration, demanded accountability, or defended policy. But here's the catch—what the public saw wasn't simply the product of what people wrote. It was filtered, sorted, and amplified by design choices built into the platforms themselves.

That’s the core problem: platforms don’t just host conversations; they script them. Code and interface decide whose voices rise and whose sink, shaping public perception in ways that look natural but are anything but neutral.

Yet the spotlight almost always falls on influencers. We track their sponsorships, controversies, and viral posts, as if they alone carry the weight of online culture. But this fixation hides the way digital design quietly shapes the participation of ordinary people.