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Friday, March 29, 2024

Sara underscores importance of libraries vs. misinformation

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Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Friday stressed the importance of libraries in preventing misinformation that can easily be found online.

LIBRARY MONTH. Vice President Sara Duterte graces the launch of the 32nd Library and Information Services Month today at the National Library in Ermita, Manila. In a speech during the event, she cited the important role of libraries against misinformation.

The Vice President recently spoke at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Library and Information Services Month in Manila, and said that the “vast, endless ocean” of digital information is “not without dangers.”

“Those waters are often perilous. Like the deep blue sea, the digital world has an ecosystem that, if not managed and utilized well, may confuse the public, steal quality and truthful information, contribute to miseducation, and lead them right down its darkest parts,” Duterte said, quoted by a GMA News report.

“We have seen how accessibility to online information has diluted depth and quality, or how convenience [has] watered down hard work, diligence, and thirst for knowledge,” Duterte added.

She also cited the “over-reliance” on digital platforms, where many people source their information from online search engines.

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“And true enough, you only need to go to Google, and all the information you supposedly need would come streaming before you in seconds. You only need to click a link that you think is relevant, [that] you feel is relevant but [are] not sure if it is relevant. But that’s not a problem. You can find another link if you are unsure, and then another,” she said.

According to Duterte, these pieces of information can be copied and pasted to finish a research project regardless if the data are reliable or not.

The GMA News report further quoted Duterte saying that “I find this part of technology worrisome as a mother of three young children with access to technology and online information, [and] I am aware of the possibility of them wandering around the dark side of the online world.”

But in libraries, Duterte said, the public must go through a process of research that is “as ancient as time.”

Although she said she is not “d monizing technology and digital information,” Duterte said online information can be skewed, incomplete, erroneous, curated, and produced to provoke a particular reaction, incite hate, peddle lies, and spread misinformation.

The Vice President also acknowledged the National Library of the Philippines for their work as literacy partners of the Department of Education and maintaining the integrity of the libraries as a source of relevant, verified, reviewed, truthful, and reliable information.

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