Two House leaders have expressed support for the campaign of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against fake news, disinformation, and misinformation.
Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union and Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, who chairs the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, echoed the President’s warning against fake news.
“No one is safe from fake news. Lahat tayo potential victim niyan (We are all potential victims of such),” Ortega told a news conference.
“Fake news doesn’t only affect us politicians. Baka akalain niyo kami lang ang umaangal, nabibiktima ng (You might think we are the only ones complaining, falling victims to) fake news (but) it affects all Filipinos—women, especially the minors, the youth, the future generations,” added Roman.
The two were commenting on President Marcos’ latest vlog on Sunday in which he warned Filipinos about the spread of disinformation and misinformation as the campaign for the May 12 elections goes into high gear.
Ortega said the President has been engaged in “fact checking” through his vlogs since he was a candidate for vice president and for the highest office. He suggested that an information campaign against fake news should begin at the grade school level.
The lawmaker said teaching children as early as in grade school levels how to discern fake from real news would help them deal with issues like bullying and may contribute positively on their mental health.
Roman cited the importance of developing critical thinking skills among children. She said fake news is intentionally created “with a malicious intent, to distort reality, to distort the truth.”
“If you raise a generation that believes a lie, a falsehood, how can you create a stable future for our country?” she asked.
“So, critical thinking is very important here. President Marcos is a family man. I’m sure—of course, his children are grown up—I guess he must have taught them already, Cong. Sandro (Marcos), to practice critical thinking,” she said.
In his Sunday vlog, President Marcos urged Filipinos to be extra careful in getting information, particularly from social media.