Former Rappler Contributor Finally Speaks Out On How She Was Blindsided By Rappler

After a few days after the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) released their order that the registration of Rappler will be revoked, several people has already spoke their minds.

Rappler, the people who are siding with, the Liberal Party, and all the people behind Rappler are now fighting for their so-called “press freedom” which they claim this government is attacking.

On the other side of the fence, people who are able to see how ridiculous the shout of Rappler is, are explaining that Rappler violated a law by being owned by a foreign entity. It has nothing to do with press freedom or hate that they are claiming.

With this, Rappler journalist, Pia Ranada is saying that it is not true and that it shouldn’t be the issue. With all the denials about the issue, one netizen who used to contribute articles to Rappler aired her side.

She said she knew that Rappler was owned by a foreign entity. She felt that her voice was used by someone who is not even a Filipino.

So, our question now is that, if this contributor, Fae Cheska Marie Esperas who contributed a few articles to Rappler in 2015 knew that it wasn’t fully Filipino owned, how come Ranada and all the other people crying out now didn’t?

Read the post of Esperas here:

I have contributed articles to Rappler, and one of them was featured on Rappler's section for thought leaders. I was very proud when they featured my article because my cause and purpose would be read by a wide audience, and I wanted them to get to know how it is like to be in the line of work that I (used to) do. An underlying theme in that article was also a call out to fellow Filipinos to find ways to unite in the midst of diversity. Pilipino sa kapwa Pilipino.

But upon learning that Rappler is technically owned by a foreign company, it seems like I allowed myself to be used by someone else instead, just to put the message of my article across. I feel used because a foreign media outlet took advantage of my voice without my knowledge, and this very same outlet made it look like they are one with my stand (given the nature of their "Thought Leaders" category). Pero yun pala, nakikisakay lang sila just for the sake of so-called social relevance.

I don't like the idea of them making all sorts of tirades against today's problems and putting blame solely on the current administration mainly because they are backed up by a foreign owner and they can pull out and flee the scene once they are bombed back, or do a public outcry saying their freedom of expression is being threatened, to think they don't have legal claim to it in the first place.

I look up to Rappler as a good social media platform where I can write and put my thoughts to public (via Rappler X), but had I known from the start that they are not purely Filipino in terms of ownership, I would have thought about things first. I may still have chosen to write for Rappler, or would have gone with another online media outlet instead-one that has a more solid respect for transparency and accountability. I mean, I would have contributed to HuffPost or to BuzzFeed instead, or to a local blog whose owner I personally know.

In essence, I was blindsided by Rappler. My freedom of expression was insulted too.

Here's the article I mentioned: here

We regret to think how many more people have been blindsided by Rappler.