Authors - Ernest Joseph M. Garcia Abstract - This study examines how visual rhetoric and algospeak function as coordinated multimodal strategies of digital camouflage in Philippine Ukay-Ukay social commerce, and how these strategies evolve under algorithmic assimilation. As social media platforms increasingly use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for content moderation, recommendation, and commercial indexing, local online sellers must adjust their communication practices to remain visible, trusted, and economically active. In this context, sellers use Anti-Design visuals such as glitch-style images, collage layouts, and cluttered designs, together with coded language like “Budol,” “6–7 Condi,” and “EA Only,” to navigate platform rules while maintaining community trust. Using a qualitative case study approach grounded in Multimodal Social Semiotics, the study analyzes six digital artifacts from Facebook and Instagram marketplaces. Each artifact is examined through machine reading (AI/SMI outputs) and human interpretation (community meaning-making), revealing a gap between algorithmic recognition and cultural understanding. Findings show that visual rhetoric produces intentional visual noise that signals authenticity and human labor, while algospeak functions as coded language that evades algorithm detection and communicates trust, identity, and group norms. As AI systems improve pattern recognition, sellers adapt through emoji substitution, brand masking, and participatory formats such as “W or L” posts. However, a persistent intelligence gap remains between machine interpretation and human cultural meaning. The study concludes that digital camouflage is an integrated multimodal system shaped by human creativity and algorithmic governance, highlighting the continuing importance of cultural knowledge in digital commerce.
