Ways on how to counter disinformation on the news media were tackled during the 10th session of Higher Education Connect (HEdConnect).
The HEdConnect Session 10 with the theme Countering Disinformation was held last Friday, December 18, 2020, via Zoom and CNU Facebook live.
HEdConnect 10 was organized by the CNU College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Department of Communication and Media Studies where it gathered educators, researchers, and students alike to promote Media Information Literacy (MIL) in this age where information is readily accessible through the internet.
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Dr. Filomena Dayagbil, CNU President said that in this digital era, fake news and disinformation circulate more easily creating confusion and distrust which hamper public responses, destroy the public image, and cause harm to people’s lives.
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She encouraged all to have a proactive stance in safeguarding information handed by the media through verifying news sources and information.
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The speakers of HEdConnect 10 were Dr. Joseph Elvir Tubilan, CNU Department of Communication and Media Studies Chair, and Max Limpag, Co-founder of the journalism start-up InnoPub Media who both discussed Countering Disinformation.
Tubilan said that social media manipulation is a global problem and discussed recent studies about the Global Disinformation Order.
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He also shared about the Categories of Information Disorder which include misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information. Afterwards, he focused his discussion on News Literacy.
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Tubilan said that the promotion of MIL is needed to counter information disorder.
Limpang on the other hand said that disinformation was already prevalent before and people are motivated by it because of political agenda, money, or for fun.
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He said that disinformation is only getting worse with the advancement of technology such as artificial intelligence and manipulative audio and video recordings.
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Limpang advised people not to engage in fake content by not reacting angry emoji, sharing, or commenting on the original post to fight disinformation since doing so increases its engagement and virality.
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He recommends to message relatives, families, and friends who share unverified information, and to provide them with facts. He also suggested fact-checking sites and online tools that help in verifying news information.
HEdConnect 10 is among the many webinars spearheaded by CNU to connect with its stakeholders aimed at sharing valuable insights to help cope with the challenges in the new normal. (JDF)
