Viral misinformation

We were deeply saddened by the news that ABS-CBN Corp. had let go of around 100 employees, or about three percent of its workforce, due to declining ad revenues.

Last year, the media company’s ad revenues rose by 16 percent to P6.7 billion, but this was still way below the P22.9 billion reached in 2019 when it still had its free TV franchise. Congress rejected its franchise renewal in 2020 and from July 2020 to 2021, ABS-CBN reportedly retrenched more than 15,000 employees.

The company’s losses widened fivefold to P12.84 billion last year as production costs increased and advertising revenues dropped.

The situation ABS-CBN is in, is not surprising. A lot of people no longer watch television for entertainment. Instead, they use other devices such as their laptops or mobile phones to catch the latest news, watch movies on streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and get entertained by news postings on YouTube or TikTok.

Businesses advertise and spend their marketing budgets on digital versus traditional channels, not only because traditional advertising spaces are more expensive as when one would try to land a commercial during a highly watched TV program or event or secure a billboard in a big city but also because the results of traditional marketing are harder to measure compared to digital marketing. Not to mention digital placements can easily have a wider reach, even worldwide.

New media encompasses internet-based forms of advertising such as banner ads, social media and apps, which have gained popularity in the last decade or so as more and more consumers use smartphones.

But advertisers will not set aside traditional media since it complements with new media. Unfortunately, these advertisers will focus their traditional media budget on maybe just the number one or even top two for each form – print, television, radio.

While new media and social media in particular can be considered as a boon to marketing, it definitely has its disadvantages.
In this age of instant gratification, where a single post can catapult anyone into the limelight, it’s no wonder that sensationalism has become the currency of the digital world. But what happens when these viral stories are built on nothing but lies? We, Filipino netizens, have always been quick to react and share but slow to fact-check. And this carelessness comes with a cost.

Back in 2019, Forbes.com reported that according to a Pew Research Center report, 55 percent of US adults already get their news from social media, instead of turning to the papers or the evening news on TV.

A study from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin found that 23 percent of social media users reported that they shared what turned out to be fake news. In addition, more than 60 percent of users said that fake news then leaves them confused about what to believe.

Lead author of the study Patricia Moravec noted that the primary issue with social media is the lack of journalistic oversight of the information that is created. The best way to avoid fake news on social media, she added, is not to use social media as your primary news source. Also, read the actual news articles and not just the headlines, she suggested.

Another study from the University of Manchester noted that “the blending of traditional sources of news and modern media outlets has caused the blurring of the line between information and entertainment, and that what once was only provided by journalism and reliable sources can now be uploaded by almost anyone.

Another Forbes article also cited a BBC Education study which found that nearly half of young people aged between 11 and 16 tend to believe the news they see on social media often regardless of the sources. In the US, users of all ages often tend to trust almost everything a friend, relative, or colleague shares with them.

Marketing platform Affise’s chief marketing officer of partnership said in that article that “considering that those born between 2005 and 2010 have never experienced a world without social media…, it’s hardly surprising that such a large percentage of the age category have come to believe that the news being shared across their timelines, homepages and for your pages are a credible source of information relating to the wider world.”

Remember that time when a man claimed that his bank account was hacked, allegedly losing P345,000, sending waves of outrage across social media against BDO Unibank. Later, it was revealed that it was his family member who took the money.

Then there’s the viral post about the owner Goto Tendon who fired an employee for feeding a stray dog. People were furious. It turned out the agency-supplied worker was a repeat offender for violating restaurant sanitary rules who wasn’t fired but resigned and went AWOL. It’s the kind of recklessness that can destroy businesses, ruin reputations and leave lasting scars on people’s lives.
Two years ago, Pulse Asia revealed that over half of respondents in a study on fake news said that most of the information about government and politics came from social media influencers, bloggers and vloggers.

Then there’s the issue of cyberbullying which can take place on social media. According to UNICEF, it is repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering, or shaming those who are targeted, examples of which include spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos off videos of some on social media.
It has been observed that the problem with today’s clout-chasing culture on social media is that it puts clicks above credibility and that those eager to go viral will say anything and share anything, with no regard for the consequences. And when you mix this with Filipinos’ love for a juicy chismis, it’s a recipe for disaster.

The next time you find yourself having the urge to hit ‘share’ on that next viral post, think twice. You may be spreading falsehoods online that leave behind real victims - businesses ruined, jobs lost, reputations shattered and relationships strained.

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