GMA Network Senior Vice President and Head for Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor B. Amoroso (center) and Assistant Vice President and Deputy Head for Integrated News Social Media Aileen Rae Perez received the award presented by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting + Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief Tim Charlton (right).

As a testament to the broadcast giant’s commitment to delivering relevant content to Filipinos, GMA Network’s Eleksyon 2022 digital campaign ‘Dapat Totoo’ won the “Innovation Award for Online Election Campaign - Philippines” at the inaugural Asia Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2023 held last June 8 in Singapore.

Produced by GMA Integrated News and GMA Public Affairs, ‘Dapat Totoo’ was designed to inform and engage readers and users on multiple online platforms in support of GMA Network’s comprehensive coverage of the 2022 National and Local Elections. It provided voters with relatable yet trusted content and information sources across various new digital platforms.

"We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2023 for recognizing GMA Network's Eleksyon 2022 digital campaign. This campaign proved to be an invaluable tool in ensuring that Filipinos, especially the youth, were equipped with accurate information, educated on critical matters, and actively engaged amidst the widespread dissemination of fake news and the complexities surrounding the 2022 Elections. As GMA Integrated News solidifies its position as the unwavering 'News Authority of the Filipino,' the Network remains committed to upholding the fundamental principles of journalism, fearlessly confronting the challenges faced by media organizations in this digital age,” said Senior Vice President and Head of GMA Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor B. Amoroso.

The winning digital campaign included GMA Network’s Eleksyon 2022 quiz filter, the first augmented reality (AR) quiz filter produced in partnership with GMA News Media Inc (GMA NMI). The #eLeksyon2022 quiz filter enabled users to answer election-themed questions and share the results on social media.

In addition, GMA Integrated News and GMA Public Affairs collaborated with several personalities, including Tiktok influencer Ychan Laurenz, to reach young voters and educate them on their voting rights. They also launched various election-related TikTok challenges that went viral to further tap and involve Gen Z audiences.

"Even before the pandemic, GMA Integrated News and GMA Public Affairs' Social Media Teams optimized the influence of social media and 'meme journalism' to reach a wider and younger demographic. We've always believed that serious issues can be presented in creative and entertaining ways," said Aileen Rae Perez, Assistant Vice President and Deputy Head for GMA Integrated News Social Media.

Launched as part of the ‘Dapat Totoo’ campaign was WordEleksyon, a Wordle clone game designed to remind voters of traits to look for in ideal candidates. This was developed in collaboration with GMA NMI.

The winning election campaign also featured the ‘Dapat Totoo’ Lectures, an exclusive series of webinars for college students that tackled the deep dives on spotting misinformation and becoming citizen journalists.

The ‘Dapat Totoo’ campaign garnered 36.7 million views and over 800,000 interactions across social media platforms.

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards seeks to recognize innovation and excellence in projects across the Asia-Pacific region that advance the field of broadcasting in the areas of technology, digitalization, and engineering.

In 2022, the ‘Dapat Totoo’ campaign won “Best in Audience Engagement” at the World Association of News Publishers, Digital Media Awards Worldwide in Zaragoza, Spain – making GMA the first Filipino Network to win in the event. It also won ‘Best in Audience Engagement’ at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2022 in Singapore.