Facebook Used the Philippines to Test Free Internet. Then a Dictator Was Elected.

Facebook used 100 million people as a test bed for cheap internet provided by Facebook, and unwittingly helped fuel a brutal crackdown

Jake Swearingen
Sep 4, 2018 · 5 min read
Funeral workers carry away the body of a suspected drug pusher who was killed by unknown assailants in Manila, Philippines, April 1, 2018. Photo: Ezra Acayan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In 2013, Facebook hit upon an idea to grow its user base: It would subsidize internet access to…

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Jake Swearingen

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I write about technology for New York magazine.

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