DepEd: Beware of fake announcements of class suspensions

The Department of Education (DepEd) urged the public to trust only official sources in the announcement of class suspensions after at least two Facebook pages erroneously claimed on Monday that the agency had declared a three-day holiday next week.

Two Facebook pages named “Walang Pasok Advisory” said on Monday that DepEd supposedly suspended classes on Nov. 23, 24 and 27, 28 and 29.

DepEd noted though that it had “not made any announcement” on the suspension of classes nor was it associated with the pages in any way.

“DepEd encourages the public to be more vigilant against fake news and half-truths, and be more discerning of information that they accept and disseminate,” the agency said in a statement.

On Facebook there are at least three pages calling itself “Walang Pasok Advisory.”

The two pages that carried the erroneous announcement have a combined 14,000 followers.

The third page, which did not carry the false announcement, has more than 259,000 followers. It distanced itself from the other pages, pointing out that its information on class suspensions only come from trusted sources.

To avoid being misinformed, DepEd reminded the public to get information on their announcements through their official channels: www.deped.gov.ph, Facebook DepEd Philippines and Twitter @DepEd_PH. /atm