Government doesn’t engage in fake news, says Andanar

DAVAO CITY — The Duterte administration does not promote fake news and is even leading the fight against it, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

“There is no fake news on PTV (People’s Television Network), there is no fake news on  PNA (Philippine News Agency), there is no fake news on PIA (the Philippine Information Agency), RTVM (Radio Television Malacañang). The Presidential Communications Operations Office does not engage in fake news,” Andanar told reporters here on Tuesday.

He was reacting to the Inquirer’s query on the conduct of the National Information Convention here, which was aimed at “information literacy” and “promoting responsible communication.”

Andanar, however, admitted that some government agencies had committed some form of lapses in the past but “these were not intentional.”

The PNA on May 27 last year, was accused of spreading fake news when it used a photo of the Vietnam War for a story on the Marawi crisis.

Before that, PNA also ran the story “95 states convinced there are no EJKs in PHL,” which quoted Assistant Interior Secretary Epimaco Densing III, who later denied much of the information attributed to him. —Allan Nawal