Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said that the Philippine government will launch a “grand information summit” in the first quarter of 2018 to help fight fake news and boost the Filipinos’ media literacy.
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“Magkakaroon po tayo ng isang information summit this coming 2018, first quarter. At kasama po dito lahat ng mga information officers ng probinsiya, siyudad, mga munisipyo, lahat po ng under PCOO (Presidential Communications Operations Office) pupunta po doon. We are also inviting private media to be part of this information summit,” he said during an interview in government-run Radyo Pilipinas.
“This will be the first. Grand in a sense na malaking information summit po na gaganapin dito sa bansa natin,” he added.
The summit aims to put together the efforts of media practitioners and users to fight the spread of fake news, especially on social networking sites.
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“It should be a collaboration between private media, government media at collaboration between institutions, including educational institutions, DepEd (Department of Education). Kailangan po magtulungan lahat eh. Social media is so big. It’s so massive to be ano, to be solved by one agency alone,” Andanar said.
Among the things discussed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) in November was the member countries’ agreement to fight misinformation.
Andanar currently serves as the chair of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI), which was in charge of the fight against fake news in the regional bloc.
The netizens reacted to Andanar’s revelation about the information summit.
Someone said it’s a typographical error and should have said “Grand summit NG fake news.”
Others noted how some government official themselves have been accused of spreading fake news.
“How counterproductive for this government to hold a Summit to fight Fake News when its own people are the ones propagating it. What a waste of public funds. #Philippines #Duterte,” said @rjamesbarrete.
Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay suggested a more “efficient, inexpensive alternative” to the summit.
“There’s an efficient, inexpensive alternative given that most fake news, misinformation, propaganda, lies comes from or is pro gov’t: GOVT SHOULD STOP LYING & ENABLING PRO-GOV’T PROPAGANDISTS,” Hilbay tweeted.
Sources: ( news.abs-cbn.com )
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