MANILA, Philippines — Combating fake news, disinformation and online fraud in the May midterm polls will be undertaken by watchdog groups, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“It’s very difficult to discern the technology of fiction from reality,” DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday.
“We have launched (a campaign) with many agencies, especially Comelec, to address deepfakes and disinformation,” Uy noted.
Scam Watch Pilipinas is part of the initiative, he said.
Social media sites will be monitored for disinformation, deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated content, Uy said.
“We’ve deployed people who will scour social media sites… and report them to us so we can take action together with the Comelec on whether we should take down these sites or inform the public of the disinformation that is being propagated,” he said.
Messaging features of social media platforms and instant messaging apps are becoming mediums or vectors for the spread of fake news and black propaganda, Uy noted.
“One of the biggest propagators are Viber groups,” Uy said.
Mainstream media, he said, should police its own ranks and “call out those that you find are misbehaving or those that you find are not adhering to the ethics and standards that are expected of professional journalism.”
Retiring
With the retirement of two poll commissioners in February, President Marcos should appoint replacements internally, according to the employees’ union of the Comelec.
“We believe it is crucial to place people who are already familiar with election laws, election administration and management,” the union said.
Three electoral exercises are set this year: the May 12 midterm polls, the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections and the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in December.
The President should appoint Comelec “insiders” to replace Commissioners Marlon Casquejo and Socorro Inting, the union said.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia earlier urged Marcos to immediately appoint replacements for the two commissioners.
However, Casquejo and Inting’s retirement will not adversely affect Comelec operations, Garcia said. – Mayen Jaymalin