THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner, recently called attention to what he termed as the “proliferation” of fake news. According to the country’s top soldier, there is apparently an orchestrated campaign of misinformation and disinformation, and urged our countrymen to be on guard and check facts before passing on pieces of information on social media.

It appears his statement came in the wake of a purported “warning” shared by a certain “Archbishop Martinez” and which, in turn, had been relayed to him by a certain “General David.” The item – confirmed as “fake news” – alleged that the AFP was on “red alert” and that war equipment were landing in the Philippines coming from several allied countries. The record has been set straight by proper authorities: “Archbishop Martinez” and “General David” do not exist.

General Brawner said fake news like this is intended “to sow panic, divide the country, and distract the people from more important issues.” He warned that misinformation and disinformation campaigns are intended to erode the trust that our people have reposed in the AFP.

The AFP warning and the spate of fake news remind us that there is a form of war that is raging in our midst right now. The enemy is invisible, and the objective is to rob us of our inner peace. The strategy is to sow “chaos” and to fuel “confusion.” “Chaos” is the psychological and emotional state of a person characterized by a sense of loss of control and helplessness. “Confusion” is the state where one cannot distinguish between true and false. The combination of the two takes away our ability to make an accurate assessment of our situation, establish a clear goal, and assess our options.
The military calls this “psychological warfare.”

It has become easier to wage this kind of war against us because of the power of social media.

A 2023 study revealed that “social media is now among the most used news sources worldwide.” It has overtaken radio, print, and other traditional media. Another study showed that 70 percent of adults in our country rely on social media for news and their view of current events.

This can be a cause for concern especially during delicate times. Social media is basically “uncensored.” It has no gatekeepers, no ombudsman, no editors – unlike its traditional media counterpart. There are shadowy characters that continue to exploit this nature of social media. Sadly, this misuse of a powerful communication platform could heighten our collective anxiety and aggravate the chaos and confusion that recent events may have already triggered.

The website MindTools provides us with six valuable tips on how to guard against fake news: first, develop a critical mindset; second, check the source; third, see who else is reporting the story; fourth, examine the evidence; fifth, don’t take images at their face value; and, sixth, check that “it sounds right.”
These are times that call on us to be “skeptical” about items on social media which tend to erode our trust in important national institutions and take away our ability to sleep soundly at night.

The fact that the fake news regarding the purported “red alert” status in the AFP has been quickly proven false should give us some respite from anxiety. For the record, the AFP is not on red alert. That means our men in uniform are not in “mobilization mode.” This means it is safe to presume that – at least at this point – we are not about to go to war.

It is also comforting to note that our national leadership has not called on us to prepare for the possibility of a full-blown armed conflict and continued to emphasize that “we are not in the business of war.” We have been reminded that our Constitution renounces war as an instrument of national policy. We presume that our diplomats are at work and that there is a possibility that we will wake up one morning to find the volatile situation in our waters already resolved.

That is not happening in our country today. It appears it is business as usual. This indicates that we are holding on to our faith in the power of diplomacy. And, perhaps, even more so in the power of our collective prayer. For now, we will ward off fake news and its effects on our inner peace until the AFP and the national leadership say otherwise – with clarity. ([email protected])