Government, social media firms to combat fake news

MANILA, Philippines — The government is partnering with social media companies to intensify its campaign against disinformation and misinformation.

The Presidential Communication Office (PCO) will sign a memorandum of understanding with Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) for the administration’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) campaign project at the Hilton Manila in Pasay City tomorrow.

“The MIL is the administration’s response to the disinformation and misinformation plaguing the country’s digital landscape, focusing on capacitating the youth to become more discerning consumers of media,” PCO Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement yesterday.

Other agencies joining the initiative are the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Social Welfare and Development.

These agencies will collaborate with the PCO on a comprehensive execution plan crafted to target the identified root causes of the issue, Garafil said.

The MIL will be integrated into the higher education curriculum, community-based training and family-oriented programs, she added.

On the other hand, social media companies and their platforms are also expected to collaborate with the government by lending the tools and training to fight disinformation and misinformation, according to Garafil.

PCO Undersecretary Cherbett Karen Maralit had said the government would implement a digital media literacy drive to equip the most vulnerable communities with knowledge and tools “to be discerning of the truth.”

Maralit also said bills on media literacy have been filed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The measures seek to institutionalize the effort of the DepEd to include MIL as a core subject in the current curriculum of basic and secondary education.