Bongbong Marcos to media: Lead Filipinos in identifying fake news, propaganda

President Ferdinand Marcos. (File photo from the Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged the fourth estate to help Filipinos discern real information from propaganda and be a measure of stability and objectivity.

Marcos issued the call during the 50th anniversary of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), saying that the media industry has been facing various issues such as the “challenge of ensuring the integrity and credibility of information.”

He lamented the proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, and “fake news,” saying “these are negative effects of technological advancements and social media age.”

“We started with mistaken information, then it became more active, disinformation, and misinformation and now, out-and-out, fake news. However, it is something that is to be expected considering how powerful the tool social media has become,” Marcos said in his speech.

“Like any powerful tool, it cuts both ways. And it is up once again to the KBP to bring a measure of stability, a measure of objectivity, to help our people discern what is the real information and what is propaganda,” he added.

In this situation, Marcos said the fourth estate stands as “the stalwart partner of our conscientious and peace-loving citizenry, also of our legitimate and equally conscientious government.”

He added that the press and broadcast media are instrumental in informing the citizenry, in shaping public opinion, and triggering social mobilization and change.

“Therefore, I exhort the KBP to continue your very important work with our people and with the government, addressing and remedying the issues and challenges that we face,” he said.

“Take the lead and foster public discussion, truth and credibility, the rule of law, especially in the practice of broadcasting, news reporting and information-dissemination,” he added.

Marcos said that the government is committed in ensuring transparency and good governance, freedom of expression and of the press, and the protection of media practitioners and their rights in the practice of their profession.

He also vowed that the government will work hand in hand with the press  to improve the Philippines’ ranking in the World Press Freedom Index, where the country sits at 147th place.

“Onward to many more decades of important and relevant existence, may you genuinely dedicate them to upholding the truth, freedom, and social justice for the benefit and upliftment of the present and of succeeding generations of Filipinos,” he said.

The KBP is a non-government and non-profit organization created on April 27, 1973.  It advocates for professional and ethical standards geared toward promoting responsible and free broadcast media, as well as maintaining a relevant role for its members in society when it comes to press freedom.

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JPV