Netizens fall for satirical ‘Anti-Angry Birds Bill’
Filipino netizens are fuming over a supposed bill that seeks to ban the online game âAngry Birds," making the said bill the Philippinesâ third most discussed topic on Twitter this Sunday. News on the so-called âAnti-Angry Birds Bill" is going viral on social networking sites after the satirical website âSo, Whatâs News?" posted a story on this last Friday. The bill was supposedly filed by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, who earlier filed a bill against planking during street protests. The satire said Castelo got the idea for the bill when he went Christmas shopping the other day at a mall. âEverywhere I looked, âAngry Birdsâ this, âAngry Birdsâ that! Where is the product diversity? Shouldnât the DTI be monitoring this?" the representative supposedly said. âThis is why this bill is even more important than my own Anti-Planking Bill. I hope that my colleagues here at Batasan will support this bill," Castelo said, according to the website. In a Facebook message to GMA News Online, Castelo said he finds the satirical Angry Birds Bill "funny and amusing." "I play the game. That's the favorite of my son. It's a hoax, kuryente," he said. "I'm busy with the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law and FOI bill," he added. âSo Whatâs News?" is a website that aims âto inject humor into everyday news to provide respite to readers who have grown weary with mainstream news organizationsâ partisan, biased, and depressing way of presenting the news." Reminding furious netizens With the satirical bill now trending on Twitter, some netizens have had to remind other angry Twitter users that such a bill is nonexistent, and merely calls attention to political issues.
The furor over the âAnti-Angry Birds Bill," nevertheless, reflects the criticisms against the Anti-Planking Act of 2011 that Castelo actually proposed last month. Netizens have said such a bill is a waste of time given the Philippinesâ other problems like hunger and poverty. Meanwhile, GMA News Online is urging Internet users not to spread false and unverified information online. - KBK, GMA News