MANILA (UCAN): Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, the Philippines, urged Catholics to campaign against misinformation and fake news in the country, which he said faces a “pandemic of lies,” and to unite in a “campaign for the cultivation of a culture of critical thinking and rational examination.”
Archbishop Villegas said in a January 1 press release, “We know that there are elements hell-bent on peddling lies, distortions of fact and falsehood,” urging people to ask critical questions, inquiring into the source of announcements, posts, articles and blogs to “withstand the onslaught of this barrage of fake news and lies.”
In the current Philippine society, it has become difficult “sifting truth from lies and falsehood, because there are so many who have developed the stealth art of presenting falsehood as truth, of re-writing history, of harnessing the power of social media for the spread of disinformation,” the archbishop said.
“Lies, falsehood, fake news, disinformation have permeated all elements of Philippine society… Slander and calumny against the reputation and good name of others have become commonplace and, sadly, an accepted fact of national life,” he said.
Lies, falsehood, fake news, disinformation have permeated all elements of Philippine society… Slander and calumny against the reputation and good name of others have become commonplace and, sadly, an accepted fact of national life
“Government announcements are sometimes misleading and fall short of the demand that it be transparent at all times to citizens. Businesses falsify their books of accounts in order to evade the payment of taxes and duties,” Archbishop Villegas said in his press release.
The socio-political landscape in the Philippines is rife with fake news and misinformation, which often targets the Church too.
During the national presidential elections last May, several candidates expressed concern about the possibility of fake news and misinformation campaign influencing the election result.
Presidential candidate and former vice president, Leni Robredo, in an interview with a television channel said she initially decided to ignore the problem of fake news but it “did not work.”
Robredo lost to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the former dictator.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
Earlier in December 2022, a fake Catholic foundation circulated solicitation letters online seeking to raise funds to provide Christmas gifts for the poor. Fraudsters created fake banking accounts in the name of the St. Vincent de Paul group, St. Padre Pio charity group, and the Franciscans, and solicited funds through emails and text messages.
In 2019, Catholic media workers from across the Philippines met to discuss strategies to spread Church teachings and how to counter the spread of fake news especially among the youth in an event organised by the bishops’ Episcopal Commission on Social Communications.
In 2018, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao was dragged into controversy when a post circulated on social media with a warning, allegedly from the archbishop to priests and nuns “not to interact with politicians.”
The archdiocese later rejected the spurious posts that circulated on Facebook and other social media sites.
