MANILA, Philippines – Disinformation on social media has been a growing concern in recent years and conversations on how to fight it have ramped up as we near the 2022 national elections. 

In the past, disinformation had been used by foreign and local actors to influence election results. The Philippines was even been called a petri dish for disinformation, wherein groups experimented with manipulating voter opinion or disseminating propaganda on social media in the Philippines before using the techniques in the West.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the world suffered through what the World Health Organization (WHO) called an “infodemic,” a phenomenon wherein there is too much information – including false or misleading information – circulating during a disease outbreak.

Meanwhile, fact-checkers, journalists, lawmakers, educators, civil society groups, and concerned citizens have been pushing social media platforms to take accountability for the disinformation on their sites. There has also been an increase in voter education and media and information literacy.

Some action has been taken. Facebook, for instance, has partnered with third-party fact checkers and has taken down pages, groups, and accounts that exhibited “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” YouTube has removed videos containing COVID-19 misinformation and included information panels on topics that are prone to false information. 

However, experts say that the platforms’ actions have not been enough, and ways of spreading disinformation on social media platforms continue to evolve. 

Read, watch, and listen to Rappler’s explainers, in-depth reports, videos, and podcasts on disinformation and social media through the links below.

On propaganda networks, platforms’ policies

• On Messenger, false information spreads undetected, unchecked
• Facebook policy gaps leave Messenger users vulnerable to false information
• Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube still open for abuse in PH polls
• YouTube’s unclear policies allow lies to thrive
• Stars, influencers get paid to boost Duterte propaganda, fake news
• Red flag for 2022: Political lies go unchecked on YouTube showbiz channels
• New war: How the propaganda network shifted from targeting ‘addicts’ to activists

Lists and features

• 12 times social media boosted Duterte’s lies
• Investigating troll farms: What to look out for
• Villar’s #BuildBuildBuild update draws swarm of satirical posts
• 5 myths about COVID-19 vaccines debunked
• 5 maling akala tungkol sa mga bakuna laban sa COVID-19
• 6 na sagot sa mga tanong tungkol sa pag-aaral ni Bongbong Marcos sa Oxford

Videos and podcasts

• [PODCAST] Beyond the Stories: Propaganda sa social media tungo sa 2022 elections
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo? 5 tsismis na kumalat sa text, Viber, o FB Messenger
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 pekeng pahayag tungkol sa eleksiyon 2022
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 panlolokong may kinalaman sa red-tagging
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: Mga kasinungalingan tungkol sa prangkisa ng ABS-CBN
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 maling istorya tungkol sa EJK sa Pilipinas
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 pekeng promo at pakulo sa social media
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: Mga pekeng pahayag na mula raw sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 fact check tungkol sa mga pampublikong proyekto
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo? | 5 pekeng kuwento tungkol sa hindi raw ibinalita ng media
• [WATCH] 5 larawang mali ang konteksto kaugnay ng COVID-19 | ’Yung Totoo?
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 sabi-sabi tungkol sa mga programa at polisiya ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: Mga pekeng kuwento tungkol sa midya
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo?: 5 pekeng sabi-sabi tungkol sa mga lockdown
• [WATCH] ’Yung Totoo: 5 fact check tungkol sa pagbuo at epekto ng COVID-19 vaccines

– Rappler.com