By Lyka Manalo
BATANGAS CITY— The head of the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) lambasted netizens who shared fake news on social media such as reposting a provincewide declaration of class suspension which was issued last year.
During the meeting of the PDRRM Council in preparation to typhoon Ompong Wednesday afternoon, PDRRM officer Joselito Castro said he was informed about the misinformation when a personnel from the local government unit called him up early morning to confirm if there was suspension of classes.
He was told about the social media posts containing the no-classes announcement from a year ago on September 12, 2017 by vice governor Sofronio Ona Jr., who was then the acting governor.
“Ang problema po dito sa pagpapakalat ng fake news meron talagang nalilinlang kasi ito namang nakakakita ng mga post hindi man lang mapanuri, hindi man lang tiningnan ang petsa, share na ng share (The problem is that a lot of netizens were victimized because they did not read and understand the content well before they shared it on social media)” Castro said.
He said netizens should be responsible in sharing information on social media to avoid confusion and panic.