The recent buzz regarding a serial killer roaming around Balut, Tondo in Manila who shoots people randomly was condemned by Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna as misleading information. It comes after the residents of the area and their family members expressed distress due to the reported consecutive shooting incidents in Balut, Tondo.
The information circulating on social media containing the allegedly identified serial killer Joel Justiniani, alias "Joel Blandy," turns out to be false after Mayor Lacuna cleared his name with the assistance of the Manila Police District in a press conference last Wednesday, April 12.
It is just one of the many grievous damages of misinformation and disinformation that continuously affect the everyday lives of individuals, communities, and society at large, especially in the digital age.
Since the advent of social media and the internet, information has become more accessible, content creation has become more democratized, and people can easily connect with the rest of the world. Despite these significant contributions to human civilization, it also exacerbated a number of global crises that now pervade our daily lives more than ever, including the threat of disinformation.
According to Meltwater and We Are Social's 2023 global digital report, Filipinos ranked fourth in the world in terms of social media time spent, with an average of 3 hours and 43 minutes per day. Furthermore, Filipinos rank first in the world for watching vlogs and using online videos as a source of learning material. This means that Filipinos are more vulnerable and susceptible to misinformation, which is commonly shared on social media.
According to Yvonne Chua, Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Mass Communication, 89 percent, or 9 out of every 10 Filipinos, have been presented with or exposed to disinformation, which is 16 percent higher than the global average.
It is also indicated in the study that this aspect of information disorder grows rapidly on social media, where Facebook is the main platform of concern. In a similar case, Pulse Asia reported in their 2022 study that social media is seen as the major source of false information about the government and politics.
These data statistics were widely evident during last year’s election campaign. Jon Benedik Bunquin, Julienne Urrea, and Myrnelle Cinco, UP Diliman Communication Research Associate Professors, found in their 2022 study that there are several non-political Facebook pages in the Philippines engaging in election-related discussions and reporting sharing political lies and disinformation.
Their disguised propaganda allows them to reach a wide range of audiences and easily lure them with false and misleading political content. These activities, which are unrelated to their subject of interest, started to multiply the day before the deadline for the official filing of candidacies for the 2022 Philippine national and local elections.
In a similar matter, Rappler also provided evidence of numerous Facebook and Twitter accounts and groups that have a large number of followers and members, who suddenly changed their names to promote their preferred candidates in the 2022 Philippine elections.
These social media pages and groups also once catered to content that was not primarily intended for or had no direct relationship with a certain politician or any public officials, such as showbiz news, religious organizations, and Philippine history.
Furthermore, through the collaborative fact-checking initiatives of 34 partners from the academe, media, and civil society groups, Tsek.ph has detected numerous contents produced during the 2022 election campaign period that appeared as false narratives and had the intent to disinform.
Citing their series of studies, the election-related disinformation that conveys positive messaging has mostly refined the image of the late dictator's son, Marcos Jr., while a large amount of debunked false claims with negative contents mainly targeted former Vice President Leni Robredo.
Common forms of misleading claims praising Marcos Jr. include popularizing bills and laws he did not write or co-author, unauthentic endorsements from various sectors, such as celebrities, and exaggerating Marcos Jr. and his father's achievements, to name a few.
On the other hand, spurious content directed against Robredo contains allegations of poll cheating, poor disaster response, anti-poverty projects, and issues of competence and character.
The prevalence of these manipulated and fabricated contents undermines our shared set of truths and values, dividing the entire nation in opposing directions. As a result, these rapidly spreading forms of disinformation undermine the integrity and essence of democracy. Fundamentally, these pressing issues highlighted the critical role of fact-checking, not only by professional journalists but also by the general public.
Prior to the information age, the culture of fact-checking was closely associated with journalism, specifically in how editors addressed errors in stories and ensured every detail was correct before it was published, but today, every individual, group, and institution is empowered to practice fact-checking, especially with the massive amount of user-generated content circulating online.
With all the narratives shared in the digital world that are not immediately verifiable, most people struggle to distinguish between what is true and accurate information and what is fabricated and deceptive information. As a result, in addition to fact-checking initiatives, various media organizations must strongly encourage the public to become responsible citizen journalists by providing comprehensive educational resources, training, and seminars that will enable them to have the courage to report on issues that genuinely matter not only to their lives but also to their community.
Along with this, educational institutions must strengthen their media and information literacy curriculum to provide every student with adequate knowledge and skills in using media and the internet, particularly for information gathering.
There is much to be done, but we can begin by simply admitting that we are in a crisis—a nation-destructive crisis. Through this, we can conscientiously oppose any kind of perception-is-real-truth-is-not interpretation of the world, and we can collectively invest in rebuilding a democracy that is deeply rooted in the regime of truth and accountability, allowing genuine public service to flourish.
Article: Noreil Jay Serrano
Graphics: Hannah May Manalo
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