MANILA, Philippines – Ahead of the vice presidential debate on Sunday, April 10 at the University of Santo Tomas, Facebook shared data on the most talked about candidates and election issues – with senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Ferdinand Marcos Jr leading the conversations.
Cayetano is the most discussed vice presidential candidate at 44%, followed by Marcos at 35%, according to the data covering conversations from November 20, 2015 to April 5, 2016. 15.2 million users engaged in the conversations, generating 124 million interactions (likes, comments, and shares) on Facebook globally.
Leni Robredo comes in third with 33%, while senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Francis Escudero and Gregorio Honasan take the the bottom 3 spots at 20%, 16%, and 3% respectively.
Call for transparency
Meanwhile, transparency is still overwhelmingly the most discussed issue on Facebook at 66%, followed by economy and education which are both at 30%. While transparency has consistently been the most talked about topic among netizens, there has been an increase in conversations surrounding education, social welfare, health, and the environment since March.
Duterte dominates Facebook conversations
Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, on the other hand, is still the most talked about presidential candidate on Facebook. He leads at 64%, followed by Manuel Roxas II at 47% and Senator Grace Poe at 40%. Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, meanwhile, are at the bottom two with 27% and 19% respectively.
According to the data, the demographic segment most engaged in election-related conversations on Facebook are females 18 to 24 years old.
Since people may discuss more than one presidential candidate, note that the percentages will add up to more than 100%. The numbers are, however, still useful for comparing the overall size of discussion for one candidate against another.
What do you think of the results? Who do you think is the most discussed on social media? Tell us in the comments section below or write on X. – Rappler.com