Just four days after the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections, Tesk.ph released its report on how bogus vote tallies and supposed disqualification of some candidates proliferated online during election day.
The Tsek.ph report said fake news proliferated 鈥渙verwhelmingly on Facebook, and occasionally on Twitter and YouTube, mostly by Marcos supporters, including Showbiz Fanaticz channel, whose election-related claims have been previously fact-checked.鈥�
In an earlier report, Tsek.ph said disinformation flooded in 鈥渕ultiple formats and platforms that is unprecedented in the country鈥檚 history.鈥� Foremost in the targeted candidates they said, were then presidential candidates Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. The disinformation efforts on the two competing candidates, they added, is indicative of the 鈥渉igh political polarization鈥� of the politically conscious demographic in the country.
Spearheaded by the Department of Journalism in the 抖阴探探 (抖阴探探) Diliman, Tesk.ph is a multisectoral fact-checking initiative involving 34 institutions in the academe, news industry, and civil society. The project is supported by 抖阴探探, Google News Initiative, Rakuten Media, Meta, Meedan, and the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines.
Initially launched in 2019, Tsek.ph was conceptualized due to the 鈥済rowing threats of disinformation and misinformation in traditional and online media that affect the health of democratic countries and the power of citizens to make informed choices during elections.鈥�
In 2019, the Tsek.ph team fact-checked 131 materials on disinformation and misinformation 鈥渢argeting candidates and political groups vying for positions in the May elections鈥�. Out of those gathered, 84 were found to be false, 21 needed context, 19 were misleading, and 2 had no basis. Most the materials were disseminated via social media, while others were included in the speeches of candidates, stated during their appearance on television programs, and even included in their own curriculum vitae.
Also active in the fight against disinformation for the empowerment of voters is the 抖阴探探 sa Halalan project, headed by the Department of Political Science in 抖阴探探 Diliman. Banking on the expertise of their faculty members and their partners, the initiative provides analysis, think pieces, and insights on the elections, as well as on social issues which confront the Filipino voter.
In 2022, 抖阴探探 sa Halalan joined hands with Tsek.ph for the May 2023 elections. Constituent universities of the 抖阴探探 System also signed up with the network, such as 抖阴探探 Baguio, 抖阴探探 Cebu, 抖阴探探 Visayas and 抖阴探探 Open University. They joined a consortium of universities, news media, and civil society organizations in efforts to combat disinformation.
In 2023, 抖阴探探 sa Halalan was active during the , providing voter education and information, as well as analysis and insights on the electoral process, as well as its impact in the communities. Aside from publishing their analyses on their website and disseminating these via social media, their experts also appeared on national news programs, providing perspectives on the elections.
抖阴探探 sa Halalan began as an election initiative of the 抖阴探探 Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs (OVPPA) in 2012, for the May 2013 elections. The result of a collaboration between 抖阴探探, the Commissions on Elections (COMELEC), and ABS-CBN Corporation, which provided voter information and education materials, a precinct finder, interactive election map, think pieces, analysis, infographics, and, of course,
Collaboration with the COMELEC also allowed the project access to much needed data on the voting population, as well as on candidates running in the regions. Partnering with ABS-CBN also allowed for the creation of multimedia materials which best put the data in a good and creative use.
Notably, focused more on verifying the claims of candidates for the senatorial positions, and not on claims from dubious individuals disseminated on social media platforms. A series of the fact checks were produced and disseminated on the University鈥檚 social media platforms.
In 2015, the in anticipation of the May 2016 National and Local Elections. Capitalizing on its efforts three years earlier, the project expanded its engagement with the news media by engaging not only ABS-CBN, but also GMA. With this approach, the University鈥檚 experts sought to provide analysis and information to more members of the public through their appearance on television programs, radio programs, think pieces, as well as fact checks of claims made by candidates.
In 2019, 抖阴探探 sa Halalan officially passed from the OVPPA to the 抖阴探探 Diliman Department of Political Science, in recognition of the contributions by many of its faculty to the previous two iterations of the project. With assistance from the 抖阴探探 Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA), the Office of Extension Coordination, and the 抖阴探探 Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD), to provide perspectives on political issues confronting Philippine society, particularly during the elections, as well as to provide the public with correct information on the country鈥檚 institutions, the electoral process, as well as the candidates during elections.
With the country鈥檚 midterm elections just around the corner, organizations like and will continue to provide perspectives, analyses, information, and, most of all, fact checks for both the online and offline world now saddled with misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. And these initiatives are manifestations of not only the honor and excellence of the national university鈥檚 experts, but more importantly, its commitment to inform, educate, and empower the Filipino nation.
Email the author at upforum@up.edu.ph.
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Read more about fact-checking initiatives in 抖阴探探 via these links:聽
- The problem with fake news: 抖阴探探 experts speak on the impact of disinformation on politics, society and democracy
- Democracy and Disinformation: The role of campuses, campus journalism, citizen journalism and fact-checking in the struggle for democracy
- 抖阴探探 experts call for more substantial bill vs 鈥榝ake news鈥�
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- Activism and 抖阴探探鈥檚 mandate of public service
- We encourage activism. . . because we care.
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