Our voice as a Filipino youth echoes a power within that can further strengthen institutions and governance culture. In lieu of this, the youth are also the forefront consumers of credible news sources as an alpha generation navigating an almost one hundred percent digital world. This puts them at a pedestal of responsibility as accurate, evidence-based information is of prime importance especially in dealing with an infodemic crisis. The bottom line is, how can we, the Filipino youth combat misinformation and disinformation? On the premise that to help manage the infodemic, we first have to diagnose it.
Fake news encompasses a bracket of two types: disinformation and misinformation. Professor Clarissa David of the College of Mass Communication of the University of the Philippines (UP) lamented that to properly tackle the phenomenon, it is imperative that we divide fake news into discerning elements so as to not put together into one category the many different kinds of harmful content online. While both misinformation can deceive audiences, the distinction is that disinformation is intentionally and maliciously deceptive. Misinformation refers to information that is fake or inaccurate, and is often spread widely with others, regardless of an intent to deceive. It is crucial for everyone to be aware of the difference to avoid spreading falsehoods and to be critical consumers of news and information, especially within online domains.
At a time when some governments accuse the media of spreading fake news, these academics see the need for the public to be informed about how fake news is generated and disseminated, as well as how media practitioners can improve their capacity to verify information before publishing or airing their news stories on TV, radio, print, or the internet. As youth, especially at a progressive time where there are special programs in journalism (SPJ) developed to enrich the experiences, hone the journalistic skills and competencies of student-writers to strengthen free and responsible journalism, now more than ever that we carry the brunt of that duty.
Propaganda, misinformation, and fake news have the capacity to polarize public opinions, encourage violent extremism and hate speech, and, in the end, damage democracies and undermine public trust in the democratic processes. What makes democracy work is that we can look across the aisle but with the rise of various forms of harmful content, it cripples democracy in a limbo of stagnancy. Hence, the importance of schools to provide students with a solid education on media and information literacy. Media literacy provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms. It builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens under a democracy. Accordingly, serving the youth’s fighting chance to combat hoax news and other adverse content.
The process of discernment is not always easy, and it’s much more complex now because apart from assessing the candidates’ qualifications and platforms, voters and netizens also need to check if the information they’re using to make decisions are factual or dubious. Thus, it is high time for news media conglomerates to tackle more closely the professional standards and ethics, to eschew the publishing of unchecked information – Rappler, Tsek.ph, Media Commoner, Hacktibista, and many other media names that gain ground in fact-checking initiatives. This is attributable to the fact that most news groups that do fact-check segments are often times furiously antagonized for “not being transparent” or “have made a habit of ‘relying on biased or dubious sources”, even if they have undergone fact-checking workshops and going through rigorous review processes to ensure accuracy – such as what Rappler does with its fact-checking programs. As for the safeguarding of press freedom, Nobel Peace Prize winners Dimtry Muratov and Maria Ressa stressed that the latter should be the priority, as any legislation against misinformation and disinformation is a double-edged sword. This means it is bound by incredibly vague standards that could tip in the favor of the oppressor. While as forefront consumers of media that we are exposed to the digital sphere, it is empirical that we demand a more substantial bill against fake news and misinformation.
Misinformation spreads like a virus, spreading across social media faster and farther than factual stories. If you try to debunk it, misinformation sticks with people – once it is integrated into the long-term memory, it becomes very difficult to correct it. Although the infodemic cannot be cured, it can be managed through pre-bunking initiatives. By showing people how to recognize and report misinformation and improve their media literacy, we can turn the tide on the infodemic tsunami and protect people from adverse content that derails democratic processes. A sliver of hope in a pool of darkness in the journalism world.
Comments