Tackling fake news
THE discourse on the longrunning issue of fake news has reached a new level of intensity as events of the past week made it hog the headlines anew.
There was the Pastoral Exhortation issued on June 21 by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Socrates Villegas calling on the faithful to shun fake news because “the Christian cannot be part of falsehood, deceit, and lies.”
Saying that fake news is “a sin against charity because it hinders persons from making right and sound decisions and induces them, instead, to make faulty ones,” the CBCP presented ways by which falsehood ought to be handled.
A day after the CBCP issued its call, Sen. Joel Villanueva announced the filing of Senate Bill1492 that seeks to impose stiff penalties on those “who maliciously offer, publish, distribute, circulate, and spread false news or information in print, broadcast, or online media.”
Among the penalties sought are fines ranging from 1100,000 to 15 million and imprisonment of one to five years. If the guilty is a public official, the penalty proposed is twice the amount of fine and length of imprisonment, plus absolute disqualification from holding public office.
There was also the feud between TV5 veteran journalists Ed Lingao and Erwin Tulfo over broadcast ethics and offensive remarks against Sen. Risa Hontiveros who purportedly made a statement in support of the Maute terror group. Hontiveros’ expressing support for the terrorists turned out to be fake news.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) sided with Lingao who had pointed out in his Facebook post Tulfo’s cussing and offensive remarks against the lady senator.
“At a time when it has become even more difficult to ferret truth from lies, spins, and fakery, we hereby restate our firm promise to a high sense of responsibility and honesty in the practice of our chosen profession,” the NUJP stressed. “We do so as we express our support to our esteemed colleague Ed Lingao who is now being pilloried and threatened by some quarters.”
The NUJP reminded its members: “1. To broadcast (and publish) commentaries only by persons who have thorough knowledge of and practice of broadcast (and journalism) ethics, present opposing or contrasting views fairly, and not allow our personal bias or prejudice to distort the facts; 2. To prohibit personal attacks and unfair criticism; 3. To acknowledge and rectify mistakes as soon as possible;4. To prohibit offensive, obscene, profane and vulgar words and phrases as well as name-calling and personal insult; 5.To adhere to the basic principles, ethical standards of journalism as well as code of conduct for broadcast media.”
It’s unfortunate indeed that dedicated media practitioners can sometimes get embroiled in controversies concerning fake news. But I’d like to believe that journalism is a noble profession that deserves the trust and respect of the people if our democracy is to remain vibrant amid many challenges. Mainstream media is bound by laws on defamation, libel, and the like, which also tend to protect credibility – the “essence for being” of one in the media profession.
Many suspect that purveyors of fake news thrive mostly online where web-based fake data and fake statistics from fake sources can be pulled out quickly to evade legal repercussions, or can be spread easily by those with a cloak of anonymity.
I don’t wish to offend responsible and highly respected social media bloggers, but I have to say that the sad reality is that fictitious names or groups are behind fictitious websites that spew out spurious information along with photoshopped images to mislead and spread malice.
The CBCP is correct in its observation: “Social media which, initially, promised to democratize expression and free the dissemination of truth from the clutches of moneyed entrepreneurs financing mainstream media, has become the unfortunate site of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’ [which] engender faulty decisions many times with disastrous long-term consequences to persons and to communities.”
Thou shall not bear false witness, says the eighth of God’s commandments. With such in mind, let me restate what the CBCP said our Catholic faith obliges us:
1. To refrain from patronizing, popularizing and supporting identified sources of “alternative facts” or “fake news.”
2. To rebut and refute falsehood whenever they are in possession of facts and of data.
3. To refuse to be themselves purveyors of fake news and to desist from disseminating this whether on social media or by word of mouth or through any other form of public expression.
4. To identify the sources of fake news so that our brothers and sisters may be duly alerted and may know which media and which sites to shun.