MANILA, Philippines – A handful of lawmakers reacted to a September Pulse Asia survey which said 86% of Filipino adults saw false or fake news as a problem in the Philippines and that a majority say they consume false political information on the internet or social media, or on television.

According to the survey, a majority, or 58%, said social media influencers, bloggers, and/or vloggers spread false information about politics and the government, while 40% believed journalists were peddling false political information, a sign of declining trust in news in the country.

Meanwhile, national level politicians (37%) and local politicians (30%) were also seen as sharing false political information.

The Pulse Asia survey points to a growing “information crisis” made worse by big tech companies, a crisis which Nobel Peace Prize laureates Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov hoped to battle through a 10-point plan aimed at rebuilding independent journalism, ending the “surveillance-for-profit business model,” and reestablishing consumer protections.

The lawmakers – Senators Risa Hontiveros, Jinggoy Estrada, and Nancy Binay – had differing approaches towards addressing the survey. Hontiveros proposed empowering the public with discernment, Estrada advocated for a bill he authored which would criminalize the dissemination of fake news, and Binay acknowledged the “uncontrolled virus” of fake news but not the efforts of existing fact-checking initiatives.

Empower the public

Senator Risa Hontiveros, in a statement on the survey, said, “Empowering the public to seek out credible avenues for verified information should be a top priority.”

Hontiveros said the habit of truth seeking should be rebuilt, backed by legislation supporting skills-based training and media literacy programs with the aim of helping people detect false information and fake news. “This should be backed by a strong partnership between national and local government, schools, NGOs and other training institutes.”

Hontiveros also said the Philippines should consider adopting a practice of the European Union which requires social media companies to be more accountable for the spread of disinformation by submitting reports on how disinformation and its spread can affect the country.

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“A people who are empowered to accept nothing short of the truth can starve fake news peddlers out of business. We expect the government to lead the way by being uncompromising on the truth so that integrity becomes the norm again,” said Hontiveros.

‘Disturbing’ results need legislation to fight

Senator Jinggoy Estrada found the survey results “disturbing.”

Estrada, who authored Senate Bill no. 1296 criminalizing the creation and dissemination of fake news, said misinformation and disinformation is a serious matter. “Those behind it should be held accountable for their actions.”

Estrada said, “Hindi tama na hayaan nating lumaganap ang mga iresponsableng balita at impormasyon dahil ito ay magdudulot ng maling desisyon at opinion sa ating mga kababayan.” (It isn’t right to let irresponsible information and ‘news’ spread because it leads out countrymen to make bad decisions or have ill-informed opinions.)

“Bad decisions affect public interests, safety, order, and people’s lives. And bad choices stemming from false information cost money and unnecessary wastage of precious human, natural, financial, and time resources,” he added.

Estrada used the recent results to advocate for the enactment of his proposed bill against fake news. “This is the reason why we intend to establish a policy to provide our citizens with a means for their protection from online falsehood and manipulation. We hope to stop the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation on the internet by criminalizing fake news as a cybercrime.”

Multi-sectoral effort

Senator Nancy Binay meanwhile acknowledged that fake news “is an uncontrolled virus,” but also said she doesn’t think legislation is necessary.

“In these times when every bit of information is unvetted and unverified, maraming naniniwala sa tsismis at mali-maling impormasyon (many fall for rumors and false information).” She added that if no one speaks to correct false information received by the public, it assures lies will prevail.

Binay did not directly acknowledge the work of established organizations working to fact-check claims made by public officials and other forms of falsehoods. Rather, she said, “Media, academe, historians and even those in the private and public sectors are often victims of fake news.”

She added, “Kaya we need people or even non-government watchdogs who can refute fake news publicly. Mas makakatulong kung may program or campaign ang gobyerno, together with the academe and the private sector in fighting fake news. Sa ganitong paraan, we know which and who to trust, and somehow put some sense of credibility to the information or news that we receive.”

(This is why we need people or even non-government watchdogs who can refute fake news publicly. It would help if the government had a program or campaign, together with the academe and the private sector in fighting fake news. In this manner, we would know which and who to trust, and somehow put some sense of credibility to the information or news that we receive.) – Rappler.com