PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Monday ordered his government to combat fake news and disinformation, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.
“The directive of the President is to prevent and stop fake news,” PCO Undersecretary Claire B. Castro said in a Palace briefing, without providing details.
“Fake news is really increasing here in the Philippines. So, this is no longer a joke, we really need to pay attention to it,” she added.
Ms. Castro said that the President had also conducted a meeting with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to stop the spread of fake news.
The Philippine National Police last week, created a specialized committee to tackle growing cases of misinformation and disinformation.
Earlier, the Presidential Communications Office pushed for the creation of a state regulatory body tasked to monitor fake news and to weed out troll armies that operate via dummy accounts.
Similarly, the House of Representatives in February floated the possibility of requiring social media companies to secure a franchise to operate as part of efforts to combat the spread of disinformation. – Adrian H. Halili
