Marcos asks media to take lead in helping Filipinos discern real information, fake news, propaganda

 BY BETHEENA UNITE

  

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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has urged the fourth estate to help the citizenry discern between real information and propaganda at a time when fake news threatens the country's stability and objectivity.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate)

Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) on Thursday night, April 27, Marcos recognized that the media industry has been facing various issues such as the challenge of ensuring the integrity
and credibility of information.

"Well, we started with mistaken information, then it became more active, disinformation, and misinformation and now, out-and-out, fake news," Marcos said.

He said these are among the negative effects of technological advancement and the social media age.

"However, it is something that is to be expected considering how powerful the tool social media has become," he further said.

"And like any powerful tool, it cuts both ways. And it is up once again to the KBP to bring a measure of stability, a measure of objectivity, to help our people discern what is the real information and what is propaganda," he added.

The President said in this situation, the fourth estate stands as "the stalwart partner of our conscientious and peace-loving citizenry, also of our legitimate and equally conscientious government."

He stressed that the press and broadcast media are instrumental in informing the citizenry, in shaping public opinion, and triggering social mobilization and change.

"Therefore, I exhort the KBP to continue your very important work with our people and with the government, addressing and remedying the issues and challenges that we face," he said.

"Take the lead and foster public discussion, truth and credibility, the rule of law, especially in the practice of broadcasting, news reporting and information-dissemination," he added.

'Continue to be the strong voice'

Marcos also encouraged the KBP to "continue to be the strong voice, it always has been."

The chief executive then committed that the government will continue to ensure transparency and good governance, freedom of expression and of the press, and the protection of media practitioners and their rights in the practice of their profession.

He also vowed that the government will work hand in hand with the press  to improve the Philippines' ranking in the World Press Freedom Index, where the country sits at 147th place.

"Onward to many more decades of important and relevant existence, may you genuinely dedicate them to upholding the truth, freedom, and social justice for the benefit and upliftment of the present and of succeeding generations of Filipinos," he said.

The KBP is a non-government and non-profit organization created on April 27, 1973.  It advocates for professional and ethical standards geared toward promoting responsible and free broadcast media, as well as maintaining a relevant role for its members in society when it comes to press freedom.

On fake news and social media in the country

by Professor Rom Feria, Manila Bulletin

This week, politicians’ attention is on the Pulse Asia survey on Filipinos’ take on fake news and its sources. One senator even wants the government to make social media companies accountable (see “risa-on-fake-news-govt-must-hold-social-media-networks-accountable”). If Meta refuses to go to the EU, appear in their chambers and be questioned, who the heck is the Philippines, why would they listen to PH congressmen and senators? What can the government do to address this problem? I have a couple of suggestions which can be done without the need for legislation.

First - start weaning away from these social media services, and instead use the official government websites for proper information dissemination. One of the possible reasons why government agencies use social media is because it is easy and convenient to post articles, unlike their websites. This should not even be an issue (what is the DICT doing?). That being said, government agencies can also tap the University of the Philippines Office of the Vice-President for Development’s IT Development Center for assistance and training.

Another possible reason is social media access is free (on mobile) or has preferential affordable packages for these online services. Why is this? PH telcos and social media companies have a deal - which always involves money (business first, as always, who cares about its impact on Philippine democracy!?). First thing to do is to compel PH telcos to provide the same preferential treatment to all government online services, everything under .gov.ph (and whilst they are at it, CHED and DepEd must also get .edu.ph included!). Imagine, it is free or more affordable to access social media sites, which promotes and spreads fake news, than sites that debunk these fake news. How is this fair? This anti-competitive behavior calls for an Philippine Competition Commission inquiry on why and how PH telcos selected these online services, whilst not providing the same for other less known social media services (e.g., how can Mastodon sites compete against them?) and online services or even locally-developed online services. And in the long term, a new law that enforces net neutrality (hello, madam senator)- that prevents the internet service providers to provide preferential treatment to any online service (including their own).

Finally, we hear about educating Filipinos to be more critical of what they read, hear and watch. However, to be very effective, this should have started at the elementary level (yeah, DepEd again!). Whilst fake news and misinformation cannot be eradicated, what can be done is to restrict its spread. Companies such as Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), Alphabet (which owns YouTube and Google Search), Twitter, and ByteDance (which owns Tiktok) bombard users with fake news and misinformation because it provides better engagement, translating to more revenue - so despite what they say about cooperating with governments (Yes, not only the Philippines) to combat fake news, at the end of the day, profit still rules for them.

With the exception of a law on net neutrality, the government has options on how to mitigate the spread of fake news. The real question is “Is the government willing?” What can DICT do? Well, that is for another article.

Palace to launch programs vs fake news, says Garafil

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos, Manila Bulletin

The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said that it will be implementing programs to combat the spread of fake news in the country after recognizing that the circulation of erroneous content is a problem that must be resolved.

Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil (RTVM Screenshot)

OPS officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said this after a new Pulse Asia survey showed that 9 of 10 Filipino adults think the proliferation of fake news in the country is a problem.

In a press briefing, Garafil agreed that spreading fake news is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

She said the OPS would come out with programs to combat fake news.

“Ito po ay isang seryosong bagay na tututukan ng OPS. Kaya nga ngayon, Sir, meron kaming mga programa na ile-lay-down in the coming days (This is a serious issue that the OPS is looking into. That’s why we will be laying down programs in the coming days),” she said.

“We will let you know kasi gusto rin talaga natin na ma-address itong mga problema ng fake news (because we also want to address this problem about fake news),” she added.

Last month, former Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the OPS was willing to work with Congress to push for legislation to address the spread of disinformation and fake news.

She said this after she admitted that there was no budget yet for efforts to fight misinformation in her office’s proposed budget for 2023.

“Nagbigay rin tayo ng suporta sa Kongreso para sa panukalang batas sa paglaban sa fake news at disinformation (We showed our support to Congress for a proposed law against fake news and disinformation),” Angeles said on September 2.

“Handang magbigay at magsumite ang ating opisina ng suhestiyon at impormasyon na kinakailangan para makamtan natin ang ‘whole-of-government’ approach kontra fake news (Our office is prepared to give suggestions and information necessary to achieve a ‘whole-of-government’ approach against fake news),” she added.

All Fools Day in the age of fake news

by Manila Bulletin

Are you sure you’re reading this right? It’s April Fools’ Day.

It’s celebrated around the world in many different ways, but in any way it is observed, someone has to play the fool.

In the Philippines, as in Spain and Mexico, there is a Yuletide version of April Fools’ Day — Niños Inocentes, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, as we call it, or Dia de los Santos Inocentes as it is for the Spanish and the Mexicans. It’s celebrated every year on Dec. 28 in remembrance of the massacre of the newborns and the firstborns in Bethlehem by order of King Herod of Judea in reaction to a prophecy that, the King of the Jews thus born, one of those children could oust him.

Through the years, the commemoration of this biblical tragedy has not been as grim, being part of a festive season. An angel warned Joseph, who brought his family, the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, to safety in Egypt before the massacre took place, so the joke was on Herod. He played the fool and so the day, much like its April counterpart, has since become a day of pranks, the day revelers try to find someone, a friend or family member, to play Herod, the fool.

Niños Inocentes is All Fools Day in December, replete with spoof reports and lots of humor in the newspapers and the news channels in most Spanish-speaking countries, where the jokes are called “inocentadas.” Until the 1980s, Filipinos would avoid lending anything, especially money, on Dec. 28 because chances were they would never get it back.

Today is All Fools’ Day in April and in most countries, this is the day to play pranks on unsuspecting folk. No one knows exactly where it originated. There have been suggestions that it might have been prompted by reactions to the Edict of Rousillon, promulgated by Charles IX in 1564, to change the date of the New Year from Easter to Jan. 1 throughout Christendom. Those who failed to see that Easter was lunar — meaning falling on “the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox” — and therefore a moveable feast were subsequently called poisson d’avril or April fools.

Once upon a time, All Fools Day was a big deal.

In 1957, the BBC played a spoof documentary of a family in Ticino in Switzerland harvesting strands of spaghetti from a tree, like grape from a vine, to which Americans reacted with as much incredulity as with great interest, wanting, as the BBC has put it, “to find out where they could purchase their very own spaghetti bush.”

In the mid-1990s, Taco Bell took out full-page ads in seven leading American newspapers to announce that, in the hope of helping the US reduce its debt, it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell, eliciting thousands of calls, many from irate citizens, for both Taco Bell and the National Park Service, before it was revealed at noon on April 1, 1996 that it was all a hoax. The ad won many awards.

Those days are gone. Nowadays, we potentially play the fool every time news on the web astounds us. The internet has ruined All Fools Day — or made it every day.

Careful rumor mongers

Reprint from Mindanao Daily Mirror, published September 2-3, 2017 with friendly permission from the publisher.

EDITORIAL

Beware rumors mongers, you could now land in jail. This after President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10951 which constitutes the amendments of the Revised  Penal Code. The law carries harsher penalties of crimes among others, treason which is now punishable by reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of at most 4 million Pesos, and spreading of false news found to endanger public order or cause damage to the interest of the State either thru publication  or utterances. The spread of fake news or unlawful utterances entails the penalty of arresto mayor (imprisonment of one month and a day to six months) and a fine of ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 Pesos. The prevalence of fake news recently in this country pushed lawmakers to declare it as criminal act.

Making fake news crime is a welcome development provided it would not be abused merely as a means for the fulfillment of certain political interests. This law also faces the danger of being abused as means to harass people out of personal grudge. Worse comes to worse, it could be used as a means to pin down political  detractors or enemies of state who are out to divulge irregularities of certain government officials or personnel. Thus, implementation of this law should be handled with extra caution to avoid thumping onto one's rights. There is a big tendency the spread of vital information against crooks in government could be easily charge to fake news, thereby curtailing one's right to freedom of speech. This is not cynicism since the above negative circumstances are big possibilities.

For all intensive purposes, fake news as a crime provides a tough lesson to rumor mongers who intend to color other people black. These people should be dealt with accordingly and be given a dose of their own medicine to let them realize how hurting it would be to be maligned in public. Meanwhile R.A. 10951 also penalizes a public officer who is guilty of revealing secrets of a private individual by arresto mayor and fine not exceeding 200,000 Pesos. This specifically pertains to a quidnunc who has the obsession of meddling into one's personal life for an ulterior motive only known to him. This law with any luck would stamp quidnuncs out.

Fake news

SAT, APRIL 8, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Fake news are not new but just simply to be spread via the World Wide Web and here especially social media platforms. Actually since several months, I avoid reading and especially spreading news in Facebook. Good to know that Facebook to tackle fake news with educational campaign….

Users will be directed to Facebook’s help center where they can get detailed advice. Facebook is launching an educational tool as part of measures it is taking to counter fake news.

For three days, an ad will appear at the top of users’ news feeds linking to advice on “how to spot fake news” and report it. The campaign, which will be promoted in 14 countries, is “designed to help people become more discerning readers”, the social media firm said. These countries are Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Myanmar (Burma), Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina,United States and Canada.

But experts questioned whether the measure would have any real impact. “Until Facebook stops rewarding the architects of fake news with huge traffic, this problem will just get worse,” Tom Felle, a lecturer in digital journalism at City University told the BBC. Starting Friday, April 7, 2017, users who click on Facebook’s ads will be redirected to its help center, where they will see a list of 10 tips for identifying false stories.

These include looking at an article’s URL, investigating the source of a story and thinking more critically about whether an article is a joke. It also recommends being “sceptical of headlines”, as false news stories “often have catchy headlines in all caps with exclamation points”.

Facebook’s new guide is a useful primer on the basic principles of good journalism. If all the millions who will see it popping up in their feeds read and digest it, maybe it will have an effect.

But it will only be there for three days and one has to suspect that it will be read in the main by people who are already suitably sceptical about hoaxes and propaganda. So I’m not convinced that this will be seen as a game changer in the battle to make Facebook a place you go to find the truth, rather than wallow in your friends’ prejudices.

What could be more effective is a German plan to combat hate speech and fake news that Facebook does not like one bit. German chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has just approved plans which could see social networks fined up to 50 million Euros if they fail to remove illegal con-tent within 24 hours.

However, critics also said the tool was just one part of a broader strategy, and that there was “no silver bullet”.

Indeed, in my opinion, Facebook should go further. One of the biggest problems with fake news is that the algorithms that run social media sites like Facebook and search engines such as Google are being gamed by black ops companies.

Facebook has been under pressure to combat fake news on its platform after claims it was used to sway voters during the US presidential campaign. Examples include a story that falsely claimed President Obama had banned the pledge of allegiance in US schools, and another fake news item, saying former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was part of a paedophile ring. Facebook has since taken action to improve its monitoring and reporting processes.