MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa has ordered its anti-cybercrime unit to intensify online monitoring against the circulation in social media of fake news.
In a statement on Thursday, the PNP said its Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and its regional units were ordered to “monitor misinformation circulating in social media involving national or immediate concern, conduct validation, and fact-check to provide reports and updates with Facebook for appropriate action.”
“This time, we need to double our effort against the proliferation of false information, most especially about national concerns,” Gamboa said in a statement.
“The PNP will conceptualize ‘legal offensive’ against individuals spreading misinformation on social media, he added.
Gamboa also urged the public to avoid posting unverified information as this could generate panic and confusion.
The PNP-ACG has already launched investigations and validations on fake news, especially those with harmful content and panic effect on internet users.
The PNP added that cyber-cops are also coordinating with Facebook Philippines through their law enforcement portal and they are able to monitor posts spreading fake news on COVID-19 disease (formerly known as the 2019-novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease).