Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed Senate Resolution 271 to conduct a Senate probe on the proliferation of misinformation and fake news sites on social media to assess the need to amend Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and other relevant laws.
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This bit is true. What’s not true, though, is an article from inquirer.local-reports.com claiming that President Rodrigo Duterte told Pangilinan “there are no fake news running on social media but what we see are satire and pure fiction.”
The article also said that Duterte allegedly noted how important satire is in politics and governance, adding that by using satire to ridicule politicians and other public figures, it will keep them on track.
We tried searching for the statement Duterte allegedly made denying the presence of fake news on social media, but we could not find supporting news reports carrying the same statement.
Moreover, we found that it has shared several fake articles, such as the hoax about US President Donald Trump tripling aid to the Philippines, Melania Trump responding to Duterte’s praises about her, and Bill Gates starting work in Davao.
What’s true about Pangilinan’s resolution, though, is that it sought the possibility of imposing penalties on social media platforms for a “balanced flow of information” that “respects the freedom of speech and of the press.” It also noted how Facebook, with its 47 million active accounts based in the Philippines, is the country’s “most popular and highly trafficked social media networking site.”
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However, the May 2016 elections showed how Facebook and other social networking sites were used to promote fake news sites and misinformation, which has “become a problematic phenomenon not only in the Philippines, but also in other parts of the world,” Pangilinan said in his resolution. He also added that fake news has become an “effective weapon of several political operatives to influence public opinion and national discourse,” causing it to suffer.
“Discerning the truth from the lies has become more difficult everyday as manipulation of information and blatant fabrication of stories have become increasingly rampant,” said Pangilinan.
“It is therefore in the interest of the State to protect the integrity of cyberspace so that it will become a tool for development, and not a tool for sowing dissent and virulent tribalism,” he added.
Meme Buster was actually founded on the need to fight the online lies, beat the trolls, and share the truth.
Source: (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
Be Informed. Beat the Trolls, Share the Truth!
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