Briones wants discernment of fake news included in school curricula

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan–Education Secretary Leonor Briones is batting for the inclusion of programs in the school curricula that will teach students skills intended to help them discern true information from the fake ones, as she urged campus journalists to distinguish journalism from propaganda.

In her keynote speech during the conduct of the 2019 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) here on Monday, Briones called on about 5,000 campus journos all throughout the Philippines to differentiate truth from falsehood and between manufactured news and real news.

“Una, nandoon iyan sa inyong Journalist’s Creed…hindi lamang bilang ina ng edukasyon pero bilang lola din ng edukasyon, sa inyo mga apo, I dont know if you will pursue the profession of journalism. Kanina tinanong ako, ilan ba talaga ang magiging journalist sa mga sumasali sa contest nating ito, ang tingin ko, hindi naman lahat magiging journalist pero marami silang natutunan sa ating contests. Natutunan nilang, una, ang sinasabi ko, always seek the truth,” Briones said.

“Sana, reminder ito sa humahawak ng ating curricula, ng ating programs sa DepEd (Department of Education) (so), isa sa mga skills na ituturo sa ating mga journalist, sa ating mga writer kung paano magdifferentiate kung totoo ba o hindi ang isang bagay. Hindi ibig sabihin na may balitang seksi, kung may balitang nakakatawa, may balitang tsismoso, may balita about violence, and so on, is not necessarily mean na ito ay katotohanan,” she added.

The education chief underscored that covering the truth must become a skill and an art in times when propaganda is also becoming a skill and art too, saying that propaganda was used during the World War II in a “negative way” and the world was “greatly affected.”

“Sabi ng ating pinakamamahal, ng ating sinasamba na guro, nating lahat na human beings na si Jesus Christ, seek ye the truth and the truth shall make you free. So, iyan ang challenge ko sa inyo,” Briones said.

“This is why, we try to inculcate in our senior high school program, the ability to think critically. The ability to analyze hindi lamang magmemorya ng foreign relay. Hindi lamang magmemorya ng multiplication tables or whatever kundi to be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction, between truth and falsehood. Itong challenge na ito ay lalong magiging matindi kung saan hindi na natin alam kung nasaan ang katotohanan,” she further noted.

On Monday, Briones led the DepEd delegation in the NSPC, the annual gathering of campus scribes coming from 18 regions in the country.

NSPC, known as the “Olympics of campus journalism,” is organized by DepEd pursuant to Republic Act 7079, or the Campus Journalism Act of 1991. /jpv