By Louie Benedict Del Fierro, Jasmine Osorio, and Janela Pauline Bañanola |
Thumbnail from MovePH
Truth is defined as a notion that is believed to be accurate and supported by facts. However, the truth isn't always regarded as a fact. A person's truth might differ from the other's.
The proliferation of disinformation during the pandemic typically places the populace at imminent risk by diverting attention away from unaddressed concerns—leading people to arrive at misleading judgments of the situation. Access to reliable and crucial information, which are necessary for decision-making, has been further obscured by the threats posed by people fabricating and disseminating false information across various social media platforms.
Dabbling on the life-changing recent misinformation and disinformation debacle during the campaign elections and the results that followed suit, the #FactsFirstPH initiative of MovePH organized a five-week media and information literacy (MIL) course from January 20 to February 17, 2023—intending to unify the students, teachers, and leaders to learn and discuss the significance of being critical and analytical on online information while also highlighting the influence of media and information on the plight of democracy.
How then does the spread of misinformation continue to be rampant and jeopardize the integrity of these academic institutions? What is the media doing to address this crisis of deceit?
Digital media landscape: Power, potential, and harm (January 20, 2023)
Social media has undoubtedly been a very effective medium for disseminating, presenting, and consuming information during the past two decades. It is simple to think that social media is a democratic space given the free flow of information and material that can reach thousands of individuals in a matter of seconds. The difficulty of monitoring networks like Facebook and Twitter increases when the disinformation being disseminated often stems from political division in the real world and is exacerbated by the echo chambers that people have created for themselves. As information disorder affects the public's outlook on pressing issues, Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa and Rappler Head of Digital Services Gemma Mendoza undertook an insight into the local and worldwide disinformation landscape.
Information on digital platforms has a substantial impact on citizens' decisions today, and its consequences can be seen in all facets of our lives, including political preferences, religious convictions, and even daily routines. This illustrates how disinformation can polarize and engulf society because of the enormous effect and ability of social media on perceptions of the truth. Social media can distort reality and public perception, leading to disinformation through digital surveillance and planned operations using bot and troll attacks as part of a coordinated attempt to stir up harm online.
While disinformation portrays itself as the better alternative truth for the general public, this plague of lies has come to threaten the credibility of the media and other academic institutions. Also, the majority of users are exposed to fake news and perspectives due to the use of manipulated, fabricated, or decontextualized photos and videos, "blurring the lines between what is reality and fiction."
Fighting disinformation: The importance of fact-checking and facts-based reporting in matters of public interest (January 27, 2023)
At a time when sharing is as easy as a click, one would be surprised just how many aren't enlightened about the significance of discerning truth from inaccuracy, or at least how badly fake news impacts the people using media. When asked if the audience in the event were to report an unreliable source, most answered no and chose to ignore it and go on with their days. Although a few ought to act on the issue at hand, not many care enough to do so; not to mention the lack of attention on educating citizens about fact-checking in a country where fake news is prevalent in various social media networks, where rumors about unconfirmed government policies, lives of influential personalities, and unreliable news spread like wildfire, especially to the older generation of Filipinos.
To make matters worse, the government has yet to lay the foundations of transparency within the community—depriving people of accessing information, making informed decisions, and avoiding fake news in a supposedly democratic country. The press's primary role in the war against disinformation is fact-checking and verifying stories and news reports. Yet, it has its limitations because, in the vast majority of viral lies, it exclusively addresses particular concerns or people.
Listening to the constitution and methods in handling media and disinformation of Norway, their protection for the press, easy-to-find facts for the community, and the high level of transparency they have with their citizens, it is not easy to imagine a moment when the Philippines could attain the same thing.
Kristoff Egeberg, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of a Norwegian fact-checking organization, Faktisk, expressed, "We enjoy a very high quality of life. And, I believe, this is because we score among the highest on Freedoms.”
The time has come for the country to pause and ponder how deceit develops in the information system of today. Today, attacks are based on misleading information and the manipulation of innocent people's emotions, with hidden assailants waiting to strike. Can the masses still resist?
How to be a responsible digital citizen (February 3, 2023)
Like state citizenship, digital citizenship is about the duties, rights, privileges, and access to digital tools, technologies, and information that one is entitled to within society or, in this case, the digital community. To be a digital citizen is to acquire literacy skills and knowledge to participate in communicating, creating, and consuming media on the world wide web. This session featured World Bank consultant Bernice Soriano and Mona Magno-Veluz, also known as Mighty Magulang on TikTok, to share insights and awareness of how an individual can use their digital citizenship for empowerment and as a catalyst for change.
"Your rights offline are [also] your rights online," Soriano stated as she explained the digital citizens' rights and responsibilities.
Human rights precede the digital era, but they still need to be upheld; with misinformation and online scams becoming rampant, people are becoming susceptible to danger and misjudgments that lead to a hostile and toxic environment. With communication and participation becoming ever so easy, it's also important to consider human empathy when online; behind every account is an actual human being with a different experience and culture; such differences make misunderstandings inevitable.
As Mighty Magulang said, "We cannot confuse the right to speak with being right. We cannot confuse opinion with fact."
Being a history content creator on TikTok, Mighty Magulang is no stranger to internet trolls and bashers; citizens have challenged and even criticized her content despite having twenty years of material. The creation of dump accounts aid in this phenomenon, giving people an opportunity to speak about what they think is right and often neglect empathy.
A person’s digital footprint reflects society. The media created and consumed will influence the present and future generations—prolonging the existence of toxic culture and misinformation. In an age where daily transactions can be done online, understanding the algorithm and being consciously aware of online etiquette can go a long way to promoting harmony in society.
Digital hygiene: How to manage online risks in the age of disinformation (February 10, 2023)
Today's online space has dramatically evolved with about 5.16 billion internet users and 4.76 billion social media users worldwide. With a click, billions of people can see everything citizens post and share online, making personal information and preferences open for others. Given the session’s topic, the essence of digital hygiene is to protect personal data from the threat of malicious online attacks, such as malware, online theft, and system malfunctions. When participating online, digital citizens must be aware and careful of what they post online, for companies and others can use it to profile them.
“Digital hygiene is about gaining pleasure from the internet while avoiding pain online,” Mon Libro, the founder of Privacy and Security by Design, pointed out.
Pictures, marital status, and religious or political affiliations found in profiles are factors in the unfair-decision making of companies. In cases such as employment, companies can simply look into personal profiles to see if an individual is fit to work in their business—leading to employment challenges. Furthermore, failure to protect personal information online leads to a loss of reputation, autonomy, and discrimination. To ensure digital safety, citizens must ensure that their data remains secure, and one method is to “change our passwords regularly as we change our toothbrushes.”
Moreover, as digital citizens, it's imperative to be aware of digital footprint; one must avoid oversharing and be cautious of applications that over-collect data. Awareness of one’s rights also allows an individual to understand the value of their privacy and the scope and limitations of companies, websites, and people when asking for personal information, as “these rights are never handed on a silver platter.”
How to exact accountability through truth-telling (February 17, 2023)
The speakers challenged the audience to fight the struggle no matter what the future may bring because we live in a time when the truth is getting more convoluted and difficult to find, let alone defend.
Disinformation continues to influence how individuals interpret and perceive reality and credibility. Even irrespective of the pandemic, its effects have already been seen in a wide range of contexts. The public’s lack of faith in government and institutions, the rising popularity of hatred, and the flow of deceptive propaganda drive out positive and constructive news, causing damage to the country’s political decision-making.
The media will always fulfill its duty to serve justice and the truth. But, everyone must behave as responsible citizens and media consumers as society continues to polarize as a result of the growth and surge of misinformation. This is a battle for anyone who still believes that the truth is important.
How far social media platforms can take moderation in the pursuit of disseminating truthful information is debatable, though certainly there is interest in doing so. What needs to be watched out for is when moderation becomes censorship and who gains to benefit from having voices muffled into background noise.
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