ENDEAVOR
The coming national and local elections are not simply a contest among candidates for public office. It involves the quest for truth in an era of massive disinformation.
This was the gist of the message of Bishop Pablo Virgilio ‘Ambo’ David, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (BCBP) as he keynoted the launching of the Be Honest advocacy of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) last Jan. 15.
He lamented that information technology – that is “supposed to be neutral or harmless depending on the persons using them” – has, in fact, become “disinformation technology.”
He cited Maria Ressa’s strong denunciation against the giant companies controlling the global information ecosystem – setting the “algorithms of amplification, algorithms of distribution” that are deployed by “well-funded armies of trolls whose main task is to create and maintain thousands of fake accounts that regularly post fake news, false narratives, hate comments and messages.”
Such is the ongoing battle royal for winning the hearts and minds of Filipino voters. Long before the coronavirus pandemic disabled and decimated face-to-face interaction, troll armies have been mobilized to peddle disinformation and redirect public consciousness toward a predetermined mindset in support of electoral objectives.
Recall that in the aftermath of the 2016 elections, similar allegations were made – a throwback to parallel developments in the US elections held during the same year. So widespread and deep were the inroads made by disinformation that Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year in 2016 was “post-truth.” It is an adjective defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.”
Whenever they were called out for peddling outright lies, denizens of disinformation quickly pointed out that there were “alternative narratives” that were simply twisted fabrications aimed at misdirecting or misleading the public.
What was “post-truth” then is now better known as “fake news.”
In 2018, British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Mike Wendling wrote about how, in mid-2016, “Buzzfeed's media editor, Craig Silverman, noticed a funny stream of completely made-up stories that seemed to originate from one small Eastern European town.” They found out “a small cluster of news websites all registered in the same town in Macedonia called Veles," Silverman recalls. Upon further probing, they discovered some 140 fake news websites “that were pulling in huge numbers on Facebook.” Completing the story, Wendling wrote:
“And so the Macedonians and other purveyors of fakery wrote stories with headlines such as "Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President" and "FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide." They were completely false. And thus began the modern – and internet-friendly – life of the phrase "fake news."
The still-growing use of social media reinforces the maxim, “Lies have traveled around the world before truth could put its boots on.” On a 24 by 7 cycle, social media outlets peddle fake news that the uninformed and gullible quickly gobble up and disseminate. Under the guise of “democratized access to information,” social media have become hotspots of disinformation that are continuously amplified.
During my previous government stint, I found myself constrained to reach out to friends and caution them to refrain from sharing in Facebook and Viber unverified information that began to acquire “a ring of truth” through the simple expedient of having become “viral.” That, of course, prompted us to exert all efforts to do a better job of informing our people. After all, only by being well-informed could citizens make decisions that would be truly beneficial to their families and communities.
In applauding the relevance of BCBP’s Be Honest advocacy, Bishop David pointed out:
“I sincerely believe that you are being untrue to your avowed advocacy if you opt for political neutrality in this age of disinformation. It could only mean you allow yourself to be complicit with falsehood.” He hastened to clarify:
“We are not teaching you to engage in a hate campaign. As Christians, we do not even consider our fellow human beings as enemies. We hate sin, not the sinner... We uphold justice and mercy, we are taught to always be ready to forgive, even as we hold people accountable for their actions. We have to be always ready to be reconciled with people who have the humility to admit their wrongdoings, sincerely repent of them, and are willing to make amends.”
In the same manner that professional media organizations perform routine fact checking and verify information, citizens are urged to become more discerning and circumspect in using information obtained from social media. To drive this point home, he cited Joseph Goebbels, the German Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda whose famous words still resonate:
"A lie told once remains a lie. But a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.”
To take a stand for truth and against lies – that is the core of the BCBP’s advocacy as framed by Bishop David’s exposition on the moral imperative of the quest for truth.