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Coronavirus Context – Sinophobia in the Philippines

Chapter 4 of Ong, Tapsell, and Curato’s August 2019 report on disinformation in the Philippine midterm election offers context for coronavirus-related sinophobia in the Philippines.

The opposition mobilised an anti-China narrative to attract and mobilise supporters against Duterte with his increasingly cosy ties with the Chinese government. At times, online discourse slipped into racist expressions against Chinese people, posing threats to multicultural social relations.

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