The spread of “fake news” or disinformation on politics has become more rampant in the last two years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of educators said Wednesday.
“Lalo pa itong (fake news) dumami sa nakalipas na dalawang taon sa ilalim ng pandemya,” said Professor Carl Marc Ramota of UP Manila during the launching of Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan (ABKD).
Ramota cited a 2018 study by VERA Files that said eight in 10 deceptive posts are about political issues or figures.
The study also found that six in 10 deceptive posts attack specific individuals or groups that are almost always critical of the Duterte administration.
The VERA Files study further found that some 60 social media pages that shared disinformation have ‘Duterte’ in their names; at least 13 pages that shared fake news bear ‘Marcos’; and at least 19 pages that shared fake news claim to be legitimate sources of news.
Ramota also cited a study in 2018 that found that fake news is 70% more likely to be shared or retweeted compared to real news.
Lawmakers in both the Sente and the House of Representatives have filed resolutions calling for an investigation into reports of “troll farms” proliferating fake news and misinformation on social media sites that are allegedly run by public funds.
Under the resolution filed in the Senate, a social media troll is defined as “someone who creates conflict on sites like Twitter, Facebook and Reddit by posting messages that are particularly controversial or inflammatory with the sole intent of provoking an emotional response from other users.”
Palace officials have denied using troll farms for disinformation campaign.
The Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan (ABKD) is a network of professors, teachers, researchers, educators and academic institutions that aim to counter disinformation and fraud as the 2022 elections nears.
“Layunin ng network na ilantad, tuligsain at ituwid ang kumakalat na mga maling impormasyon at kasinungalingan na patuloy na bumubulag sa mga mamamayan at pumupurol sa kanilang kakayahang bumuo ng matalinong pasyang elektoral,” it said in its manifesto. —KBK, GMA News
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