Ma. Nathalie Claire G.

Gadia

Dissemination of Misinformation Through Extended Communication As A

Tactic During the 2022 Philippine Presidential Election

As the increasingly usage of social media became a global platform for

advocacies along with generally accessible data in all quarters of the world, it has its
equitable allocation of liability; influentially, in the tainted realm of politics (Farhall et
al., 2019). The dissemination of misinformation is not new to the eyes of many, as it
has been the medium for numerous candidates of various political parties in the
Philippines to campaign and win the election in an effortless manner (Devlin, 2022).
Moreover, it dominates in distorting facts to push false narratives about the opposing
party to mislead voters (Broughton, 2022) whose literacy to fact-checking is not
established correctly (Montelibano, 2021).

This paper aims to explore the severity and cause behind the lack of
verification of voters to datas in social media, and the power of circulating fabricated
information to establish a decent reputation for political aspirants to have their way
towards the voters’ choice.

As the 2022 presidential election campaign period commenced, numerous

pieces of information were posted online, causing ruckus and mayhem to netizens
(Arugay, 2022). There are over 90 percent of Filipinos on social media, with as of
2021, 81 percent are on Facebook (Quitzon, 2021) which spreads fake news more
rapidly than any other social media platforms (Travers, 2020). Among the age
brackets, senior citizens who rely solely on what they perceive first, are the most
vulnerable to sharing misinformation (Montelibano, 2021). Furthermore, a 2017
survey found that 87 percent of Filipinos with internet access trust social media data
they see more than mainstream media’s. Often labelled as “trolls”, are the ones
spreading these, whereas Facebook ignored, and only after criticism about their
response took the initiative to do something by taking down violating pages (Quitzon,
2021).

Along with this, a matter of media and information literacy keeps Filipinos from
verifying the news they grasp; not knowing how, and when to do it (Chua, 2021). The
inability of one in every five Filipinos to do so is a serious problem that needs to be
addressed, as these findings highlighted the necessity to train Filipinos in fact-
checking or verification techniques (Chua, 2021).

Sourcing from the last 2016 presidential election, a similarity from the use of
social media in campaigning through misinformation can be seen from last year’s
tactics; by tasking internet trolls to disperse the web of lies they want the public to
believe (Quitzon, 2021). This strategy proves efficient as both the former and
current presidents consecutively won the election, with the latter maximizing
Facebook sites, and Influencers from other platforms including TikTok and YouTube,
rebuffing the injustices, corrupt system, and abuses to human rights committed
during his father’s Martial Law implementation (Quitzon, 2021). This alters the
perception of the public from a violent reign to the “golden era” of the Philippines
(Quitzon, 2021). His vote count during the 2016 Vice Presidential election doubled
this year (Fonbuena, 2023), as his campaign tactics shifted to fit his deception better.

The previous and current elected president, along with their parties, surprised
countles citizens of the Philippines on the point that despite having an atrocious
history and track record, managed to secure the highest and crucial positions in the
government (Quitzon, 2021). The dilemma of disseminating misinformation has
always been omnipresent to the wide sphere of the virtual world (Montelibano,
2021). Still, the real problem lies beneath the public’s illiteracy which prompts
miscreants to deceive and use them for their benefits. The seriousness of this issue
is way deeper than many have supposed so; only the tip of the iceberg needed to be
tilted to address the crux of the problem.

References:

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