Press Release
March 15, 2018

TRANSCRIPT OF SEN. GRACE POE'S OPENING STATEMENT
Public hearing on addressing 'fake news'
March 15, 2018

The hearing of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media regarding fake news is now called to order.

I will be very candid with you, naghalo-halo na ang emosyon dito sa ating hearing. Lumalim pa minsan ang alitan mula sa iba't ibang kampo pero sa tingin ko naman marami tayong natutunan, maraming hugot na lumabas dito pero dapat nating balikan, bakit ba tayo nagkakaroon ng hearing na ganito. Ito'y para magkaroon tayo ng tamang impormasyon na masasandalan natin at mapapaniwalaan natin na totoo.

The importance of communication in our constitution is recognized as a tool for nationbuilding. Therefore it is important for our countrymen to be able to determine, through the proper channels, through truthful reporting, what is really going on around them so they can make informed decisions.

We will discuss:

(1) The extent of responsibility and accountability of bloggers and journalists in spreading misinformation; and

(2) The effect of online platforms like Facebook in shaping public opinion and facilitating the spread of misinformation; and

(3) The accountability of government officials such as myself, for the use or misuse of resources in spreading disinformation or suppressing the truth.

Napagusapan at napagbigyan na ang ilang bloggers na makapagsalita sa huling hearing.

Unfortunately, we were unable to tackle the issue regarding the role of online platforms last time, because some of our invited resource persons were unable to attend. Today, however, we have representatives from Facebook and Google with us.

Ano po ba ang Fake News? First, we must make a distinction between facts and opinions. Yung sabi ng mga blogger, ang sari nilang kuro kuro, ay hindi pwedeng itawag na news. Pero kapag ang isang blog ay naglalaman ng impormasyon na isinusulat ng isang opisyal ng Communications Office ng gobyerno, should the information contained in that blog be considered as news?

Pangalawa, napag-alam natin nung huling hearing, na may dalawang uri ng fake news: disinformation at misinformation.

Ang ibig sabihin ng misinformation ay balita na salungat, pero ang pinagmulan nito ay hindi sinasadya. Misinformation arises from ignorance that is unintentionally false.

Ang disinformation naman ay maling balita, na sadyang kinakalat para malinlang ang publiko. It is false information that is designed to mislead, and purposely spread to convince others of untruth.

Paano ba napapalaganap ang misinformation at disinformation? In today's digital age, social media is the necessary distribution mechanism for these campaigns.

Ayon sa pag-aaral at report na "Digital in 2017: Global Overview":

  • Pang-pito ang Pilipinas sa buong mundo sa pagdami ng bagong SOCIAL MEDIA USERS kumpara sa bilang ng social media users nito noong 2016. 12 Million ang bagong social media users sa Pilipinas noong 2017.

  • Pang-anim ang Pilipinas sa buong mundo sa dami ng FACEBOOK USERS. Mayroong tumataginting na 60 Million Facebook users sa Pilipinas as of 2017.

  • Nangunguna o top notcher ang Pilipinas sa buong mundo sa "time spent on social media". Ang bawat isang Pinoy na social media user ay naglalaan ng apat na oras at labing pitong minuto kada araw sa paggamit ng social media tulad ng Facebook, Snapchat at Twitter. Marami sa atin ang kumukuha ng balita mula dito.

There are many studies on how information and communication technology has been used for disinformation.

Last February 2018, a forum entitled, "DEMOCRACY AND DISINFORMATION" was held at the Ateneo De Manila University's Rockwell Campus on fake news and other forms of disinformation.

One observation that came out of the discussions was that the proliferation of 'fake news' was brought about by the collective efforts of experts in creating an "architecture of disinformation" possibly designed for certain "principals." Understanding this "architecture of disinformation", its structure, could help us stop it.

The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Article 154 prohibits, penalizes and fines "unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances" including "publishing or causing publication any news as false news." Hindi na po ito bago.

Facebook says that they are not in the business of publishing news and they never claimed to be a media outlet. Further, they are a private entity. No one is compelled to join Facebook.

On the other hand it has also been argued that Facebook is a non-traditional media company. The fact of the matter is it has become one of the main sources of information and news for Filipinos. It is so accessible because the app comes free with most cellphones. Perhaps it may be considered as a service imbued with public interest.

Public interest is affected when social media is used to spread disinformation among the citizenry.

Public interest is also affected when social media is used as a weapon to silence dissent on either side.

Pero papaano natin mapipigilan ang paglaganap ng fake news upang hindi sumama ang ating free 'marketplace of ideas'?

Nasa interes ng publiko na malaman kung ano ang katotohanan o kasinungalingan. Ang tanong: ang katotohanan ba ay nasusukat sa dami ng likes, hearts, o shares? Hindi ba dapat itaas natin ang diskurso ng pagbibigay ng impormasyon sa ating mga kababayan dahil pagdating din ng panahon, lahat naman tayo magbebenepisyo dito--an enlightened and informed citizenry.

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