Misinformation and Fake news in the Philippines

With the rise of internet connectivity comes a rise in false information being spread on the
internet. This has always been a problem even before the internet became mainstream and everyone
has access to it. Everyday the world evolves and adapts and is giving more opportunities for people to
get access to the internet. There are people who know how to differentiate fake news from real news
but there are still gullible people that fall for the lies of others.

There came a time where Filipinos were known as the less smart race. That trait may still linger
in people that are unaware of the legitimacy of the information that they have received. Being falsely
informed about information or being biased towards something may lead to fights among the people.
The causes why people do this varies from person to person due to different circumstances of each
person that has ever spread fake news, it could be from trolling, they are being paid to do so, they are
blackmailed and forced to do so, or they are simply also unaware that the information that they hold is
fake which in the end would just drag more people into believing lies.

This issue may be solved if the people were to learn proper netiquette or internet etiquette
young or old. Which suggests that the internet is a dangerous place and has a lot of potential to be used
against us, so we must take proper precautions when doing things on the internet. Especially being able
to determine if a certain news article is real or just a fake that’s designed for propaganda or to trick the
viewer.

The most recent case that I could think of is the recent presidential election. With nearly half of
adult Filipinos relying on Facebook as their source of news regarding the election. (Broughton D. May
2022). The saying that “You shouldn’t believe what’s on the internet” should be applied especially when
a lot is at stake on your decision. People should learn to form their own opinions instead of relying on
what someone says or being biased.

In conclusion, fake news can be easily avoided by just simply comparing that article to other
articles or simply looking for articles that is about the same topic. Being overly careful is better than
being careless, nothing will be lost if we research first on what we want to believe is true.