Infor mat i on Dystopi a A ND P hi li ppi ne D emocracy...DATAANDCOMMUNITY Infor mat i on Dystopi a...

DATA AND COMMUNITY

InformationDystopiaPhilippineDemocracyYvonne T ChuaNicole CuratoJonathan CorpusOng

Protecting the public spherefrom disinformation

AND

January 2021

NEWS LITERACY

Asia information literacy

iiINFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

Internews empowers people worldwide with the trustworthy high-quality news and information they need to make informed decisions participate in their

communities and hold power to account

We seek to realize the potential of a digitally connected world a world in which evidence-based information advances human progress enables broad

opportunity and accountability and fuels vibrant civic debate

For nearly 40 years in more than 100 countries Internews has worked to build healthy media and information environments where they are most neededWe

have proudly incubated hundreds of sustainable organizations bolstered the skills of thousands of media professionals activists and citizens and helped these

partners reachmillions of people with quality local information

Internews is an international non-profit organization with administrative centers in California Washington DC London and Paris as well as regional hubs in

Bangkok Kiev andNairobi Formed in 1982 Internews hasworked inmore than 100 countries and currently has offices in Africa Asia Europe theMiddle East

Latin America and North America Internews is registered as a 501(c)3 organization in California EIN 94-3027961 in England and Wales as a Charity no

1148404 and Company no 7891107 and in France as Non-Profit Association SIRET no 425 132 347 000 13

E-mail infointernewsorg

Website wwwinternewsorg

Twitter twittercominternews

Facebook facebookcominternews

Copyright copy 2021

ContentsAcknowledgments iv

Foreword v

Survey methodology vii

Chapter I Media and disinformation in the PhilippinesTrends perceptions and challenges

8

Introduction 8

Geographic distribution of respondents 10

Profile of respondents 11

Section 1 Media consumption 12

Section 2 Not the media 22

Section 3 Perceptions of the news media 28

Section 4 Disinformation 42

Section 5 COVID-19 62

Conclusion 72

References 73

Chapter II After disinformation Three experiments in democratic renewalin the Philippines and around the world

76

Introduction 76

Section 1 Increased value of emotional currencies in politics 76

Section 2 Growing demands for sites of listening 79

Section 3 Creating attempts to filter disinformation with democratic deliberation 81

Conclusion 82

References 83

Chapter III Disinformation at a turning pointSpotlight on the Philippines

85

Introduction 85

Whats in store for the Philippines in 2021 and beyond 86

Philippines disinformation space in regional context 86

Section 1 Many disinformation producers are financially motivatedwith little ideological investment

87

Section 2We need to develop norms andregulatory frameworks on political marketing

88

Section 3 We need more transparency mechanismsin our engagement with tech companies

89

Section 4 We need to hold our allies accountable 89

Section 5 We need to examine intersections of disinformation and hate speechWe need to watch out for fake news that could lead to escalationto racial violence as we have seen in our neighboring countries

90

Section 6 We need to create sustainable intersectoral and interdisciplinaryalliances where individuals contribute diverse specialized knowledge

to tackle different dimensions of information pollution90

Conclusion 91

References 92

Strategic and Programmatic Recommendations 94

ivINFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

Acknowledgments

First Internews wishes to thank the three authors of thisresearch paper Yvonne T Chua Associate Professor at theDepartment of Journalism of the University of thePhilippines Nicole Curato Associate Professor at theCentre for Deliberative Democracy and GlobalGovernance of the University of Canberra and JonathanCorpus Ong Associate Professor at the Department ofCommunication of the University of Massachusetts andResearch Fellow at the Shorenstein Center of HarvardUniversity

We are incredibly grateful for the quality of their insightsand analyses their collegial approach and the passion theyhave demonstrated in researching the topic

We trust that each of their chapters as well as theircollective recommendations will constitute essentialcontributions to future reflections about the Philippineinformation disorder and to the search for viable solutionsto address it It also will help inform Filipinos about theissue and the efforts to protect their right to know

Internews also warmly thanks its partners for theircontribution to this research effort particularly in thedevelopment of the mass online survey whose data informthis publication

Internews further would like to thank the members of itsteam involved in various capacities in the development ofthis publication (in alphabetical order) Alison Bartel Celiade Jesus Michelle Dyonisius Regina Florendo ArleneGarcia Brian Hanley Laura Holt Greg Kehailia MikaelaLee Gian Libot Laura Stein Lindamood KathrynRaymundo Charlie Saceda Veronica Santiago

This publication is the culmination of over nine months ofworkmdashfrom themass online survey the first conversationswith the three academic researchers their writing of thechapters to the final product you are reading here

Yvonne T Chua is an associateprofessor of journalism at theUniversity of the Philippines Sheis member of the Commission onHigher Educationrsquos TechnicalCommittee for Journalism and afellow of the researchorganization Social WeatherStations She has done studies on

information disorder in the Philippines and been involvedin fact-checking initiatives

Nicole Curato is an AssociateProfessor at the Centre forDeliberative Democracy andGlobal Governance at theUniversity of Canberra She isthe author of Democracy in aTime of Misery FromSpectacular Tragedies to

Deliberative Action published by Oxford University Pressand editor of the Journal of Deliberative Democracy Herwork focuses on how democratic politics can take root inthe aftermath of tragedies She has conducted extensivefieldwork in areas affectedbydisasters armed conflict andextra-judicial killings in the Philippines

Jonathan Corpus Ong isAssociate Professor of GlobalDigital Media at the Universityof Massachusetts - AmherstHis research on the shadowypolitical trolling industries inSoutheast Asia usesethnography to understand the

identities andmotivations of disinformation producersHispolicy engagement with the Philippines electioncommission led to policy change in social media politicaladvertising in the 2019 Philippine Elections His currentproject as Research Fellow at the Shorenstein Center atHarvard Kennedy School explores the intersections ofdisinformation and hate speech in the wake of COVID-19

vINFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

Foreword

Online disinformation and the weaponizationof digital platforms during elections constituteunprecedented challenges to both liberaldemocracies and the media sector

The Philippines is one of the first countries where thepotential for online disinformation threats to underminedemocratic processes was noticed

In 2018 Katie Harbath Facebookrsquos public policy directorfor global elections explained that in light of the 2016Philippine presidential elections a few months beforeBrexit and the US presidential elections the Philippineswas ldquodefinitely Patient Zero for the war on disinformationrdquo

Many reasons have been cited to explain the vulnerabilityof the Philippines to online disinformation

The internet penetration and social media prevalencecertainly is a major factor As Professor Yvonne Chuareminds us in the first chapter of this collective reportldquoFilipinos spend nearly 10 hours [per day] on the internetmore than five hours on a mobile device and nearly fourhours on social media as well as watching television Theyvisit Google Facebook and YouTube the most andmaintain an average of 99 social media accountsrdquo

As a consequence the Philippines stands out in the globaldisinformation ecosystem in several ways

The first characteristic is the impressive diversity ofchallenges in the Philippine disinformation space fromstate actors foreign influence operations complicitindustry figures to weaponization of libel and censorshiplaws and attacks on journalists and human rights figuresAnother remarkable element is the extremely rapidevolution and diversification of disinformation operationsnoticeable during such a short time span from 2016general elections to 2019 midterm elections The rise ofmicro-level influencers private groups and ldquowalledgardensrdquo combined with the diversification of platformsbeyond Facebook and Twitter is another profound drift1Disinformation operations seem also to becomeincreasingly inherent to the Philippine political andelectoral landscape Dr Jonathan Corpus Ong and DrNicole Curato who are among the co-authors of thisreport noted this trend in 2019 commenting on themidtermelections ldquoFor the first time digital operations arefully integrated in the overall campaign strategy Inprevious elections socialmediawere peripheral to politicalcampaigns serving as supplements to the lsquoair warrsquo oftelevision and radio advertisements and lsquoground warrsquo ofpolitical machinery Now a significant chunk of the

campaign war chest goes to social media Politicians fromthe national to the barangay (village) level enlist digitalworkers for campaign operations with operators rangingfrom the professional to the amateur to the ad hoc2rdquo

In this worrisome context Internews in the Philippinesaims to bolster the capacity of media and otherorganizations to address disinformation

The toolbox of our program implemented with a largegroup of Philippine partner organizations is designed todeal with both the supply and demand sides of the issueWehave a broad range of disinformation-related activitiesfact-check capacity building for media teachers studentsand civil society members youth coalition building workwith so-called social media ldquoinfluencersrdquo and contentcreators development of a disinformation reportingplatform and a malign actor tracking platform as well ascoordination with Facebook to encourage removing toxicoperators The program also conducts media literacy anddisinformation awareness campaigns to reduce thevulnerability of the Philippine citizenry to influenceoperations Internews will also engage with the privatesector through the establishment of a Trusted MediaIndex to be shared with advertising companies andencourage them to focus a larger part of the Philippinedigital advertising marketmdashestimated to 700 milliondollars a yearmdashon trustworthy information sources Otheractivities relate to investigative and data journalismcapacity building with notable focus on elections andpolitical financing In addition to efforts directly aimed atdisinformation the program also implements a large set ofactivities dedicated to support the self-regulation of themedia sector which Internews sees as a fundamentalalternative to an all-legalistic strictly-criminalizingapproach to disinformation

Internewsrsquo method gives a significant space to researchand analysis as it is essential to better understand thedisinformation dynamicsmdashwhose actors networkssources of funding and motivations are often obscuremdashinorder to address them In that context from April 9 ndash May25 2020 Internews in partnership with RIWI Corpconducted a mass online survey to better understand thePhilippinesrsquo current media landscape and informationdisorder

Following responses from over 19000 Filipinos the massonline survey produced fascinating findings which at timeschallenged some of the most common assumptions aboutthe Philippines and its information ecosystem Theyshowed that the relationships of Filipinos to their mediathe sources of information they trust and use and the issueof disinformation are complex nuanced sometimes evencontradictory They vary between regions and generationsas well as different socioeconomic and educationalbackgrounds The findings also confirmed the rise of digital

viiINFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample

RIWI Corp conducted the survey using the RandomDomain Intercept Technology (RDIT) a patentedtechnology which invites randomized web users toparticipate safely and anonymously

The survey asked 18 closed-ended questions exposed tothe internet population of the Philippines

RDIT worked such that anyone online in the Philippines onany device at any time of the day had an equal chance ofbeing exposed to the survey This enabled RIWI to gatherhigh-quality citizen sentiment data including those whotypically do not self-select or take part in traditionalsurveys and those who are not active on social media

Percentages are calculated based on weighted data using2020 projections through an application programminginterface and census on age and gender

April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents

Respondents here refers to unique users who havecompleted the 18 closed-ended questions

The Philippine media situation would further take a turnfor the worsemdashtopped by the shutdown of the broadcastgiant ABS-CBN Corp whom Duterte had repeatedlythreatened to bring to its knees and the conviction ofRappler founder and editor Maria Ressa and a formercolleague for cyber libel inwhatwas just one of seven courtcases she and her online news site are battling

Governmentrsquos attempts to decouple the assault on themedia from the issue of press freedom arenrsquot all thatsuccessful however The majority of Filipinos told a SocialWeather Stations (SWS) survey for example that theyregard the rejection of ABS-CBNrsquos application forfranchise renewal in particular as a ldquoblow to pressfreedomrdquo

How else do Filipinos perceive the media especially in apolarized environment awash in disinformation

This paper explores the results of a nationwide survey thatasked 19621 Filipino internet users from April 9 to May25 2020 a total of 18 questions about access and

The Philippine media situationwould further take a turn for theworsemdashtopped by the shutdownof the broadcast giant ABS-CBN

Corp and the conviction ofRappler founder and editor MariaRessa and a former colleague for

cyber libel

8INFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY | MEDIA ANDDISINFORMATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Introduction

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wasreferring to the global state of journalismwhen itmade theforecast during the release of its 2020 World PressFreedom Index on World Press Freedom Day But theassessment could not have been more apt for thePhilippine media which have been severely battered sinceRodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016

Regarded widely as an authoritarian populist Duterte hashabitually demonized journalists making no bones fromthe start of his six-year term about his wish to ldquokilljournalismrdquo He also has not concealed the deployment ofldquokeyboard warriorsrdquo in his social media-assistedpresidential run turning the Philippines into ldquopatient zerordquoof the modern disinformation era

By RSFrsquos reckoning press freedom in four years of theDuterte presidency so far has undeniably declinedmdashtwonotches down to the 136th in the latest annual indexmdashascribed in part to the ldquostate troll armies [that] use theweapon of disinformation on social mediardquo againstjournalists The Philippines found itself in the company ofRussia and Vietnam both authoritarian states with thisnotorious practice

A fuller picture from the Freedom for Media Freedom forAll Network (FMFA) a coalition of six Filipino mediaorganizations shows a disquieting tally of 171 cases ofattacks and threats against journalists during that periodIt is a dangerousmix of physical and cyberattacks curtailedaccess to information a slew of criminal cases surveillanceand red-tagging (act of labelling branding naming andaccusing individuals andor organizations of being left-leaning subversives communists or terrorists) arrestsand killings among others

[T]he next ten years will be pivotal for press freedom because of converging crises affecting the future of journalisma geopolitical crisis (due to the aggressiveness of authoritarian regimes) a technological crisis (due to a lack ofdemocratic guarantees) a democratic crisis (due to polarization and repressive policies) a crisis of trust (due tosuspicion and even hatred of themedia) and an economic crisis (impoverishing quality journalism) These five areas ofcrisishellip are now compounded by a global public health crisis

Media and disinformationin the Philippines

CHAPTER I

Trends perceptions and challenges

Yvonne T ChuaAssociate Professor Department of JournalismUniversity of the Philippines


reliability of the news media values related to accuracytrust and fairness the impact of disinformation andcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The online survey one of the largest about the Philippinemedia was conducted by the international nonprofitInternews through its partner RIWI Corp to help it mapthemedia landscape and information disorder in thePhilippines Internews seeks to improve the environmentfor a free press bolster the capacity of media and otherorganizations to address disinformation and strengthenmedia self-regulation

Drawn from all 17 regions the respondents are 57 maleand 43 female More than half are aged 18 to 34 Two infive have a university degree or more while more than afourth have reached secondary school Those whoreported personal monthly incomes of P15000 and belowcomprise 70 of the sample

Nearly three-fourths answered the survey in English and26 in Filipino Two in three did so through a smartphoneand slightly less than a third through a desktop

This paper laces the discussion with related studiesincluding theDigitalNewsReport 2020 (DNR2020) of theReuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) whichcovered the Philippines for the first time

RISJ polled 2019 adult Filipinos broadly representative ofthose online (72 of the population) from January 17 toFebruary 8 2020 weeks before the outbreak of the novelcoronavirus escalated into a pandemic and the mediasituation in the Philippines deteriorated evenmore

Collectively the Internews survey and other studiesprovide more varied snapshots of Philippine journalismand its publics


RegionNo of

Respondents

Cordillera AdministrativeRegion (CAR)

450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550

National Capital Region(NCR)

2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706

Central Visayas 1465

Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781

Northern Mindanao 674

Zamboanga Peninsula 382

SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884

Bangsamoro AutonomousRegion in MuslimMindanao (BARMM)

1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1

Geographic distributionof respondents


Profile of Respondents

Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13

5 45-54 years old2 55-64 years old

2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet

02 Smart TV01 Game Console

03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education

Less thanprimaryschool

Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree

Masters degreeor higher

LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income

Filipinos turn largely to the media when they look forinformation but nonmedia sources especially friends andfamily are just as important gateways Television continuesto command a big following but radio and newspapershave all but been dwarfed by digital platforms thattraditional news outlets have also moved into Theproportion who use the media as a source of news may bebarely half the respondents of the Internews survey butfor those who follow the news they tend to do so closely

11 Preference for the media

The media remain widely used in the Philippines Only atenth told the Internewssurvey that they do notuse themedia

Media usage is slightlygreater among women(91) than men (88) Itis greatest among thosewho are 18 to 44 yearsold (all 91) universitygraduates (95) in theP15001 to P30000income group (94) andlive in Metro ManilaWestern Visayas and NorthernMindanao (95)

The proportion of non-users on the other hand is biggeramong those who are 65 and older (19) have onlyprimary schooling (22) or less (19) earn a monthlypersonal income exceeding P160000 (28) and hail fromthree regions Caraga (24) Cagayan Valley (23) andZamboanga Peninsula (18)

Although used by an overwhelmingly large segment of thepopulation the media are the main source of informationfor a smaller fraction of Filipinos

They are the go-to for only 55 of Filipinos these dayswith the remaining 45 comprising nonmedia sourcesfriends and families public officials and political leadersreligious leaders and public personalities

Who prefers the mediamdashand who does not

Females tend to lean toward themedia as a primary sourceof information more than males The same goes forrespondents who are slightly older between 55 and 64(62) university completers (67) report a monthlyincome between P30001 and P80000 (64) with thoseearning from P15000 to P30000 a close second (63)and live in Metro Manila (69) followed by WesternVisayas (66) and Soccsksargen (65)

At the other end are those whose combined patronageacross nonmedia sources exceeds media usage They arethe youngest respondents who favor nonmedia sources by11 percentage points and the oldest (2 points) They alsoinclude those who only finished primary education (37points) or less (42 points) as well as five regions theBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao orBARMM (38 points) Caraga (28 points) Cagayan Valley(18 points) Bicol (15 points) and Zamboanga Peninsula (2points)

The media apparently gain popularity with more years ofschooling (from 29 of the least schooled to 67 of

university graduates)The finding roughlymirrors the conclusion ofthe governmentrsquos 2013Functional LiteracyEducation and MassMedia Survey (FLEMMS)thatmedia exposure riseswith educational levelThe Philippine StatisticsAuthority (PSA) equatesexposure to accessing aspecific form of massmedia every day at least

once a week or seldom (The 2019 results wereunavailable at the time of the publication)

However the positive correlation FLEMMS also detectedbetween media usage and socioeconomic status does notresonate with the Internews survey For example 51 ofthe poorest respondents identified the media as their topsource of information as did the same proportion of thewealthiest

12 Popular media platforms

The Philippine media landscape has indeed changed withdigital platforms overtaking traditional radio andnewspapers Although television still leads traditionalplatforms the extent to which it does declines amonginternet users

FLEMMS in 2013 found that majority of Filipinos aged 10to 64 were exposed to television (80) radio (66)newspapers (61) and magazines (61) Internet use atthe time was a low 16 for social media and 14 forresearch

An SWS survey six years later reported 69 of adultFilipinos getting news from television immensely higherthan those who use radio (19) or newspapers (1)

Although used by anoverwhelmingly large segment ofthe population the media are themain source of information for a

smaller fraction of Filipinos


1 Media consumption


The Internews survey however places these figures at40 for television 4 for radio and 4 for newspapersamong internet users The balance is distributed amongwebsites of news outlets (28) their social mediaaccounts (21) and news articles posted by others (3)

Altogether traditional platforms (television radio andnewspapers) lag behind digital platforms (websites socialmedia articles posted by others) 48 to 52 except inSoccsksargen Mimaropa Bicol and Calabarzon andamong those who obtained only primary schooling orvocational training are 14 to 17 or 55 to 64 and in theP120001 to P160000 income group

Internewsrsquo figures correspond more closely with thosefrom the DNR 2020 conducted months earlier Accordingto theRISJ study 41of Filipinos rely on television as theirmain source 2 on radio 4 on newspapers 29 onsocial media and 22 on online sources excluding socialmedia Similarly digital platforms (51) are more popularthan traditional platforms (47)

The age groups differ markedlyin their choice of platform theInternews survey shows Theyoungest cohort relies ontelevision the most and theoldest the least the latterpreferring websites slightlymore than TV The highestproportion of those who read anewspaper also comes from theoldest age group

Mimaropa ranks first in accessing television customarilyfor information while the Cordillera Administrative Region(CAR) and BARMM are last CAR however tops newswebsite consumption and Davao social media Thedominance of radio newspapers and news articles postedby others in BARMM is noteworthy

Interestingly several age groups in 14 regions citedneither radio nor newspapers as a source of informationThey include four age groups from 35 up inMimaropa

At the same time a number of age groups in four regionsincluding the oldest respondents in Mimaropa did notidentify TV as a source

13 News versus entertainment

Filipinos who use the media typically as a source of news(48) slightly outnumber those who use it forentertainment for the most part (42) according to theInternews survey

Of the various platforms radio has the biggest proportionof respondents who tune in to it for news (59) thanentertainment (34) Social media is the opposite It is aplatform for entertainment (52) more than news (43)

Respondents aged 14-24 and who reached only highschool also tap the media more for entertainment as dothose who live in Mimaropa Those with the smallestincome however divide their attention equally betweennews and entertainment

Filipinos who listed friends and family as their principalsource of information tend to turn to the media forentertainment (44) slightly more than for news (41)But half of those who count on public officials forinformation and a smaller percentage of those on religiousleaders (44) treat the media more as a source of news

One encouraging trend is that among the Filipinos whofollow news and current events a large majoritymdashthree infourmdashdo so closely a third ldquovery closelyrdquo

Apart from the respondents in Metro Manila (86) thosewith the greatest interest in news are from Soccsksargen(85) with personal incomes of from P15001 to P80000(82 to 83) and who look to public officials forinformation (73)

Those who receive informationmostly from television andwebsites also follow the newsmore closely than those whoread newspapers and consumenews posted by others

The DNR 2020 has similarfindings estimating 69 of

Filipinos as very and extremely interested in news ingeneral Only 1 are not

A consumer survey carried out in the Philippines in late2019 by the global market researcher Ovum reportedthat four in five Filipinos had deemed news and currentaffairs related TV and video content in particular asimportant

As for news habits the DNR 2020 said 86 of Filipinoshad accessed news at least once a day nearly three-fourthsthrough Facebook and a half through YouTube

Filipinos have also been found to be more disposed towatching the news (55) than reading (36) or listening(7) to it Of those who consume news videos online 54do it on Facebook 46 on YouTube 39 on a website orapp and 12 on another platform

Podcasts are less popular with 43 not having listened toany in a month For those who do listen these would be onnews politics and international events (26) ahead ofspecialist subjects (25) lifestyle (24) contemporary life(20) and sport (12)

An SWS survey done in the third quarter of 2019 foundthat one in four Filipinos had read news daily on Facebookwhich is positively related to education

One encouraging trend is thatamong the Filipinos who follownews and current events a largemajoritymdashthree in fourmdashdo soclosely a third very closely


Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding

14-17 years old 35-44 years old18-24 years old

45-54 years old

25-34 years old

55-64 years old 65 and over

Newsmedia organizations

Public personalities Religious leaders

Friends family and acquaintances Political leaders and public officials


Education

Region

Less than primary school

Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree

Masters degree or higher

3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11




BARMM CARDavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion

WesternVisayasSOCCSKSARGEN

CARAGA

MIMAROPA ZamboangaPeninsula

CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


Specifically which platform do you mainly get information from

TV

News outlets websites News outlets social media News articles posted by others

Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4


GenderMale vs Female

What do you mainly use the media for

As sources of news For entertainment I dont use media

All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion

WesternVisayasSOCCSKSARGENMIMAROPA Zamboanga

PeninsulaNorthernMindanao


Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley CALABARZON CARAGA

CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR



How closely do you follow news and current events

Very closely Not at allSomewhat closely Not very closely

All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion

WesternVisayasSOCCSKSARGENMIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR

While the majority of Filipinos access news mediaorganizations extensively for information nonmediasources are also a force to reckonwithNot only do close tohalf of the respondents in the Internews survey seek themout a sizable number of them also consider these sourcesreliablemdasheven more than the media for some A largemajority use online channels to get to these sources

21Whomatters

In the Internews survey nonmedia sources comprisefamily friends and acquaintances political leaders andpublic officials public personalities and religious leadersIn all they top the list of information sources of 45 of therespondents Family friends and acquaintances accountfor 23 political leaders and public officials 10 publicpersonalities 8 and religious leaders 5

In terms of age the youngest cohort gives considerableweight to kith and kin (28) especially among themales aswell as to public officials and public personalities (both11) Like the youngest respondents the oldest grouppays great attention to public personalities (11) butunlike them also to religious leaders (11) especiallyamong the women

Dependence on nonmedia sources is associated witheducation public officials and political leaders being theexception Family friends and acquaintances start tomatter less as a source of information as the respondentsbecome more educated (from 32 for the least educatedto 19 foru n i v e r s i t ygraduates ) similar top u b l i cpersonalities(from 15 to4) andr e l i g i o u sleaders (from11 to 3)

Among ther e g i o n s B A R M Mstands out for the importance it attaches to family andfriends (30) as themain channels of information which isonly 1 percentage point below its reliance on the media Italso has the biggest share of respondents who secureinformation from public personalities (16) and religiousleaders (11)

Family and friends as a source of information also matterless in Soccsksargen (15) followed by Metro Manila

(17) Caraga (17) leads the regions in sourcinginformation from public officials with Metro Manila (7)andMimaropa (5) at the tail end

Metro Manila and Western Visayas which have thestrongest preference for the news media are the leastlikely regions to seek out religious leaders (both 2) forinformation AlongwithNorthernMindanao they also relythe least on public personalities

22 Online versus offline

Avastmajority (70) goonline to get to nonmedia sourcesa great deal more than those who do likewise for mediasources (52)

However those who identified religious leaders as theirchief information source are less likely to go online (57or14 points below average) The same applies to males 65years old and older (55) respondents with primaryschooling (64) or less (63) as well as those who arefrom Caraga (59) and among the P80001 to P120000earners (59)

The extent of online access among the survey respondentsreflects the internet penetration in the Philippines

The Internet World Stats places this at 72 or 79 millioninternet users as of June 2019 We Are Social andHootsuitersquos Digital 2020 report in January gives asomewhat lower estimate 67 or 73 million users which

is also the number of active socialmedia users in the Philippines

Filipinos spend nearly 10 hours on theinternet more than five hours on amobile device and nearly four hours onsocial media as well as watchingtelevision They visit GoogleFacebook and YouTube the most andmaintain an average 99 social mediaaccounts

SWS in its 2019 fourth-quarter pre-pandemic survey said 98 of adultFilipino internet users have a Facebook

account The other platforms trail far behind YouTube at18 Instagram 6 Snapchat 4 Twitter 3 and Viber2

Estimates on the degree to which Filipinos access digitalplatforms especially social media vary

According to We Are Social the most used social mediaplatforms are Facebook (96) and YouTube (95)

Among the regions BARMMstands out for the importance itattaches to family and friends asthe main channels of informationIt also has the biggest share of

respondents who secureinformation from public

personalities and religiousleaders


2 Not the media

followed by FBMessenger (89)Instagram (64)and Twitter (37)

The DNR 2020figures for Filipinoswho access theplatforms for anypurpose are lower86 for Facebook78 for YouTube70 for FBMessenger 36 for Instagram and 30 for Twitter

Nearly all Filipino internet users (98) watch videosaccording toWeAre Social They are also fond of watchingvlogs 80 and listening to music 84 A little more thanhalf (55) listen to online radio stations and 43 topodcasts (see ldquoMedia Consumptionrdquo)

In its October 2020 update We Are Social ranks thePhilippines first in the world among internet users aged 16to 64 who play video games on any device (95)Video games it said are marketingrsquos biggest ldquomissedopportunityrdquo

When it comes to devices the SWS survey for December2019 indicates that 91 of households own a cellularphone 83 a television set 25 a radio set and 19 apersonal computer

We Are Social also found an overwhelming number ofFilipinos (93) owning a smartphone but reported ahigher proportion owning a laptop two in three It also said40 own a tablet

Of the devices Filipino use for any purpose 75 use asmartphone 39 a computer and 14 a tablet accordingto DNR 2020

In the Internews survey 67of the respondents answeredusing a smartphone 30 a desktop and 25 a tablet

23 Reasons for favoring aninformation source

In contrast to news mediaconsumers who rated ease ofaccess as the foremost reason forselecting an information sourcenonmedia users except thosewho rely on public personalitiesplace the greatest premium onreliability

Distrust in other sources is alsogreater among nonmedia users especially those whoacquire information offline than among media users (seeldquoPerceptions of the NewsMediardquo)

For the offline group a greater than average proportion inWesternVisayas cited reliability (44) as theNo 1 reasonwhereas Central Visayas has the biggest share ofrespondentswho selected ease of access (23)Distrust inother sources is considerable in Davao (26) andagreement with their sources in BARMM (18)(Soccsksargenrsquos proportion is bigger than BARMMrsquos butthe margin of error is high)

Among online users Eastern Visayas accounts for a biggerpercentage who identified reliability (32) as keymotivator Western Visayas ease of access (36)Soccsksargen distrust in other sources (31) Ilocosagreement with their view (20) and Bicol cost (14)

Reliability is also the leading reason for those who getinformation from public officials (35) religious leaders(26) and family and friends (24) Those who leantoward public personalities consider ease of access (22)and ease of understanding (21) a great deal Distrust inother sources is highest among those who obtaininformation from public officials (17)

Distrust in other sources isgreater among nonmedia usersespecially those who acquire

information offline than amongmedia users



All GenderMale vs Female

Do you mainly get information online or offline

Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All

Why do you choose [X] as your main source of information

Its cheap free

I always agree with them Its easy to understand I dont trust other sources

Its reliable Its easy to access

Age Group


14-17 years old 35-44 years old18-24 years old 45-54 years old25-34 years old 55-64 years old 65 and over


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayasBARMM CAR

NCR

Accuracy fairness andbalance are among the fundamentaljournalism norms strict adherence towhich is demanded to preserve publictrust and confidence in themedia

In this regard Filipinos have agenerally positive perception of themedia but their views are at the sametimemixed even contradictory

Case in point Although nearly half ofthe respondents in the Internewssurvey identified the media as themost accurate source of information many do not ratereliability as the chief reason they patronize newsorganizations

Assessment of the mediarsquos fairness is also inconsistent Onthe one hand only a small fraction said they perceivemediareports as biased On the other a significant numberlamentedmedia reporting on government as being unfairmdasheither ldquotoo negativerdquo or ldquotoo positiverdquo

Notwithstanding these the survey clearly shows thatmany Filipinos associate media trustworthiness with theirobligation to verify information and expect journalists toput out news that offends as long as it is verified

31 Reliability and accuracy

On the whole respondents in the Internews surveygravitate toward their sources of information largelybecause they are easy to access (29) and reliable (28)While some are attracted by ease of understanding (17)and cost (8) others have highly personal reasons Theyeither do not trust other sources (11) or always agreewith their sources (8)

The youngestrespondents (12)top the age groupsthat scout forsources whoseviews are alignedwith theirs whilethose 65 years oldand older (12)consider cost morethan the othercohorts

Affordability also means much to respondents fromBARMM and Caraga the countryrsquos poorest regions andBicol (all 12) and surprisingly those from the wealthiestgroup (13)

Education appears to be an important determinant Theproportion ofrespondentswith highereducation whocited ease ofaccess as thechief reason isat least doublethat of therespondentswith primaryschooling or

less The biggest percentage of those who said they getinformation from sources that are cheap and that agreewith them and who said they do not trust other sourcescomes from the groups with primary education or less

Unlike nonmedia sources who are sought because theyare perceived firstly as reliable (see ldquoNot theMediardquo) newsmedia organizations have a strong following becauseFilipinos find them firstly easy to access (37) and onlysecondly reliable (29)

In fact a bigger proportion of respondents (35) regardpublic officials and political leaders rather than the mediaas reliable

Only newspaper readers cited reliability (33) ahead ofease of access (25) as the top reason for going to themedia for information

The gap between ease of access and reliability is wideamong respondents who follow social media accounts ofnews outlets (52 for ease of access versus 18 forreliability) and news articles posted by others (33 to23) It is smaller for radio (31 to 26) and smallest for

television (34 to 32)

Nonetheless nearly half of the respondents(49) picked newsmedia organizations as themost accurate among all information sourceswith public officials and social media posts notfrom the news media a distant second (13each)

This finding cuts across demographic groupswith a few exceptions those who rely mainlyon friends and family and offline forinformation those who prefer public

personalities in Mimaropa Davao Ilocos Central Luzonand Northern Mindanao all of whom find social mediamore accurate than the media and those who rely onreligious leaders in Caraga CAR and Mimaropa all ofwhom say sources other than the media more accurate In

Filipinos have a generallypositive perception of the

media but their views are atthe same time mixed even

contradictory

Unlike nonmedia sourceswho are sought because

they are perceived firstly asreliable news media

organizations have a strongfollowing because Filipinos

find them firstly easy toaccess and only secondly

reliable


3 Perceptions of the news media

particular only one-tenth of the respondents in CaragaandCAR described themedia as themost accurate sourceThey strongly favor social media

32 Bias and fairness

By and large (84 of respondents) media reports areregarded as unbiased Only one in six believes that allmediamdashinternational national and localmdashdistribute biasedinformation

For 28 of the respondents media reports are all equallyunbiasedwhile 21find those from the nationalmedia themost unbiased followed by the local media (20) and theinternational media (15)

Excluding those who feel that media reports are all equallyunbiased respondents in the 35 to 44 and 55 to 64 agegroups have the biggest proportion who view the nationalmedia and international media reports as the most fairwhile those aged 18 to 24 lean toward the local media Theoldest cohort in general tends to find the media to bebiased compared with the rest of the cohorts

Thosewho received less than primary education (32) aremore inclined to see the local media as the most unbiasedIt is completely different for those with a masterrsquos degreewhich had the smallest proportion of respondentswhofindlocal news reports fair By regions the largest share ofrespondents that view the local media as the mostunbiased are from BARMM (41) which also happens tohave the lowest proportion that see national media (9)and international media (7) as producing the mostunbiased reports Respondents fromCagayanValley (29)and Bicol (28) think very highly of the national media andthe international media In contrast Caraga (31) andCAR (27)as well asthose in thetwo highesti n c o m eg r o u p s have thel o w e s tregard forthe mediainsofar asfairness andbalance areconcerned

Those whod e p e n dprimarily on friends and family social media and publicpersonalities for information also look more favorably onthe local media Those who turn to public officials andreligious leaders meanwhile perceive the national mediain a better light

Paradoxically while declaring the media mostly asunbiased only a little more than half (55) of therespondents describe their reporting on government asfair Of the remaining respondents 24 called it ldquotoopositiverdquo and 21 ldquotoo negativerdquo

Curiously as well a portion of Filipino internet users notonly consider negative news about the government asunfair but also define such types of reports as ldquofake newsrdquo(see ldquoDisinformationrdquo)

More males consider media coverage of the governmenttoo positive and slightly more females consider it toonegative

Respondents who find media reporting more positive thannegative belong to these groups the 14-17 and 18-24 agegroups have a pre-university education live in Bicol CARand Caraga and have lower incomes They also considerfamily and friends social media religious leaders andpublic personalities as the most accurate sources andobtain information offline

Those who evaluated mediarsquos reporting of government asmore negative than positive possess a university ormasterrsquos degree reside in Davao Soccsksargen andZamboanga and belong to the two highest income groupsThey rely more on websites and social media accounts ofnews organizations as well as public officials forinformation and never verify the news

Strangely despite their expectations of themedia to be fairand unbiased only a fourth of Filipinos prefer news fromsources that are objective or without a particular point ofview according to the DNR 2020

A big number of them (42) wouldrather have news from sources thatshare their point of view echoing asimilar finding of the Internews surveythat some respondents seek sourcesthey agree with although to a lesserdegree (8) The DNR 2020 found thatanother fourth favor news from sourcesthat challenge their point of view

33 Trust in media and news

The apparent ambivalence toward themedia comes at a time when trust in themediamdashand the newsmdashhas been on thewane in the Philippines

Trust in media as an institution has dropped from 80 in2012 to 69 in 2019 three years after Duterte becamepresident as shown in the 2019 Philippine Trust Indexfrom the communication firm EON Group Particularlyextreme trust has slid sharplymdashfrom 32 in 2015 a yearbefore his election to 22 in 2019

Those who depend primarilyon friends and family social

media and publicpersonalities for informationalso look more favorably onthe local media Those whoturn to public officials and

religious leaders meanwhileperceive the national media in

a better light


The index tracked the general publicrsquos trust in televisiondeclining from 89 in 2017 to 80 in 2019 radio from85 to 74 newspapersfrom 75 to 63magazines from 57 to48 online news sitesfrom 54 to 44 socialmedia from 55 to 51and blogs from 48 to33

In addition the proportionwho believe the media areunbiased or nonpartisanhas fallen from 83 to79 that they cannot bebribed from 74 to 59that they report only thetruth from 84 to 72that they are competentfrom95 to88 and thatthey provide quality contentreporting from 92 to 86

In its monitoring of online conversations about the mediathe EON Group said distrust especially towardmainstream media accounts for 62 of mentionscompared with those expressing trust 11 ldquoBiasedmediardquo and ldquofake newsrdquo it said have become buzzwords

34 Has the pandemic improvedmdashor worsenedmdashtrust inthe media

Elsewhere in the world the search for reliable informationrelated to COVID-19 has driven trust in news sources toan all-time high as the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer aglobal survey concluded in its spring update Traditionalmedia (+7 points) and owned media (+8) saw the biggestgains Despite these high levels of trust in news sourcesEdelman stressed an urgent need for credible andunbiased journalism saying that concerns about fake newsstill loom large with 67 percent of respondents worriedabout false and inaccurate information being spread aboutthe virus

RISJrsquos separate survey on COVID-19 meanwhile showsthat 60 of respondents in six countries credit the newsmedia with helping make sense of the pandemic with trustin new media rated significantly higher than informationreceived on social media

Another global survey conducted by the InternationalCenter for Journalists (ICFJ) and the Tow Center forDigital Journalism at Columbia University this time withjournalists as respondents said most of them believe thataudience trust in the media has risen during the pandemic

But this does not seem to be the case inMetroManila

The majority of respondents (51) in an early May surveyadministered by Publicus Asia in partnership with Kantar

described their trust in media as more or less the sameduring the lockdown compared to before

As for news trust in itappears dismal

The DNR 2020 foundoverall trust in newsamong Filipinos to be at alow 27mdashand a lower22 for news in socialmedia

Bucking the overall trendare certain media brandssuch as GMA Network(73) TV5 (68) and theManila Bulletin andPhilippine Star (68 forboth) The brands mostvilified by Duterte

however did not fare as well an obvious consequence ofthe presidential attacks ABS-CBN is tied with the state-run PTV at 61 while Rappler at 49 tails state mediaincluding its radio network and a tabloid

There appears to be potential consequences forindividuals who distrust the media especially in theircapacity to detect disinformation People with negativeopinions of the news media are not only less likely todifferentiate between news and opinion they are alsomore likely to be fooled by a fake headline concluded astudy by News CoLab at the Arizona State University

35 Gaining trust

As far as the Filipino public is concerned the path tomediatrustworthiness is paved with various possibilities

For most respondents of the Internews survey this entailsvalidating information (45) The rest believe newsorganizations should report complete details (29) get allperspectives (14) and be open to audience feedback(12)

There are more females (49) than males (40) whoopined that themedia should verify information Validatinginformation also received the biggest nod from those in the45 to 54 age group (51) who have a university ormasterrsquos degree (each 55) earn P300001 to P80000(56) and reside in Metro Manila (54) So too are thosewho mainly draw information online (38) from newswebsites (57) and from public officials and politicalleaders (39)

Without a doubt all four suggested courses of action arecongruent with the journalism principles of truth-telling(verification) justice (fairness and balance) andaccountability and community engagement (stewardship)

Without a doubt all foursuggested courses of action arecongruent with the journalism

principles of truth-telling(verification) justice (fairness andbalance) and accountability and

community engagement(stewardship) The urgency ofliving up to these principles in

order to regain trust is borne outin recent studies


source information primarily from public personalities orconsider them themost accurate (32)

The belief that the media should publish verified reportseven if they offend people coincides with the growingconcern among Filipinos over how far and freely they canspeak up nowadays

The SWS said in its July 2020 survey that 51 of Filipinosfeel it ldquodangerous to print or broadcast anything critical ofthe administration even if it is the truthrdquo The survey wastaken after Congress had rejected ABS-CBNrsquos franchiseapplication and weeks before the controversial Anti-

Terrorism Act which critics arguewould restrict free expression hadtaken effect

The sentiments of survey respondentsalso reinforce those expressed byFilipinos who participated in the DNR2020 Nearly two-thirds (65)emphasized that independentjournalism is very and extremelyimportant for the proper functioning of

society Close to that proportion (63) wanted the newsmedia to prominently report a false or misleadingstatement made by a politician because they said it isimportant for the public to know what the politician hassaid

Around the world media executives and publishersresoundingly agree with the need to call out falsehoodsaccording to a related study the Digital News Project2020 But some worry that this might not be enough asmore politicians pick up US President Donald Trumprsquosmedia playbook of undermining mainstream media andpushing messages directly to supporters through socialmedia A number also worry that fact-checking woulddivert resources and attention from other journalisticundertakings

In the Philippines a 2019 study that looked into howFilipino journalists perceive their role in response to mis-and disinformation found them according greaterimportance to their roles as disseminator watchdog truthcrusaders and advocates of societal reform However thejournalists also pointed out the impediments to fulfillingthese roles which among them were political pressurespublic criticisms and their ownersrsquo interest that at timeshave led to self-censorship


The urgency of living up to these principles in order toregain trust is borne out in recent studies

The Media Insight Project a collaboration between theAmerican Press Institute and the AP-NORC Center forPublic Affairs Research listed accuracy having the latestdetails and conciseness and clarity among the factors thatdrive people to trust news reporting sources It also founda strong correlation between trust and how much peopleinteract with the news

Trusting News another American project said people whowere asked to describe trustworthy journalism said theyvalue balance (78)honesty (52) depth(47) reader agency(24) professionalismand reputation (22)simplicity (12) andrelevance (6)

A journalism expertobserved ldquoPeople whothink that the newsmediadoes a bad job of keeping them updated with currentevents fails to help themproperly understand the news oris unable to monitor and scrutinize the powerful are muchless likely to say they trust the newshellip[P]eople with lowtrust in the news media donrsquot want it to be fundamentallydifferentmdashthey just want it to be betterrdquo

36 News that offends

In the face of growing media repression including in thePhilippines the call for courage and independence injournalism has also been swelling They are requisites forPhilippine journalists to do what a majority of respondents(56) in the Internews survey demand of them to reportnews that may offend peoplemdashas long as it is verified Afourth however disagree

Expectations run high especially among those in the 55 to64 age group (62) with higher education (up to 62)with the highest incomes (63) and who live inSoccsksargen (67) followed by those in Metro Manila(62)

Disagreement is felt most among the youngest cohort(27) with fewer years of schooling (33) the lowestincome (29) who reside in BARMM (36) and who

The belief that the media shouldpublish verified reports even if theyoffend people coincides with thegrowing concern among Filipinosover how far and freely they can

speak up nowadays



In your opinion which is the most accurate source of information


Public personalities Religious sector Social media posts not from news organizations


All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR



Which type of media reports the most un-biased information

Local media

All equally None they all report only biased information

National media International media

All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degreer higher


16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR



In general do you think the way Philippine media report the work of the government is fairYes No they are too positive No they are too negative

All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income

Yes No they are too positive No they are too negative

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR




What is the most important thing for a media outlet to do in order to be trustworthy

Validate information from several sources Open to audience feedbackReport complete details Get as many perspectives as possible

All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




As long as information is verified journalists should be able toreport news that may offend peopleStrongly agree

Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree

Somewhat agree Neither agree nor disagree

All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree or higher


14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR

The seriousness of disinformation is not lost on FilipinosIts effects on national elections still a good two years awayat the time they participated in the Internews surveyalready had themworried

Notwithstanding many of them do not always verify thenews they consume mostly citing the lack of timeDisturbingly an overwhelming majority see legislationoutlawing disinformation as a solution

41 lsquoFake newsrsquo defined

At its simplest ldquofake newsrdquo means false informationmasquerading as news But the term has turnedproblematic because populist leaders like Duterte andTrump havemisappropriated it to describe and assail newscoverage which is unsympathetic or critical of them It hasalso gotten lumped with other forms of disinformationincluding decontextualization and reconfiguration of facts

The Internews survey captures the inchoateunderstanding of what fake news is and encompasses Anumber of respondents classify news that is bad for thecountry and for the president or the government as fakenews

Filipinos mostly define fake news as untrue information(51) It is unverified information to 46 of therespondents andmanipulated photos and videos to 37 Athird described it as incomplete information and anotherthird as biased information

But 18 said it is news bad for thecountry while 17 said it is news badfor the president or the governmentechoing the tune of leaders likeTrump and Duterte along with theirloyal followers This dovetails withanother finding of the Internewssurvey that one in five respondentsviewsmedia reporting of governmentas ldquotoo negativerdquo (see ldquoPerceptions ofthe NewsMediardquo)

Respondents who found none of thesuggested seven phrases in the survey as a suitabledefinition make up 15

Slightly more men than women consider news bad for thecountry the president and government as fake newsThose with high school education and vocational trainingare also more likely to define fake news as such

Men more than women also tend to see no connectionbetween the seven descriptions and fake news Replying in

such manner are more than 30 of respondents withprimary schooling or less nearly a third of those inBARMM and 40 of those who do not follow the news

University graduates on the other hand make up thelargest proportion of respondents among the age groupsthat define fake news as untrue unverified incompleteand biased information and as manipulated photos andvideos

42 The problem of disinformation

Regardless of how they define fake news a resounding85 of the respondents acknowledged the spread ofincorrect information on important issues such as healthlaws and elections as a problem 57 of whom deemed itserious (ldquoyes very much sordquo) One in seven howeverdismissed it as a nonproblem

Comprising the biggest share of respondents who finddisinformation a serious problem are those aged 18 to 34(58) who live in Metro Manila (62) which is closelyfollowed by BARMM (61) have a university education orless than primary schooling (both 60) and belong toP15001 to P30000 and P30001 to P80000 groups(61 and 62)

Respondents who rely on news organizations (61) andpublic officials (56) as their main sources of informationdependmore on online platforms of news outlets whether

websites orsocial media(both 63)and closelyfollow thenews (64)also worry themost aboutdisinformation

But the oldestcohorts (19)are most likelyto rule outdisinformation

as a problem as well as respondents with primaryschooling (20) and from Zamboanga Peninsula (26)The highest proportion of those who also think it is not aproblem bank more on public personalities (24) ornewspapers (17) for information or do not follow thenews (30)

In theDNR2020 57of Filipinos expressed concern overwhat is real and what is fake on the internet corroboratingthe findings of the Internews survey They said the

The seriousness ofdisinformation is not lost on

Filipinos Its effects on nationalelections still a good two years

away at the time theyparticipated in the Internews

survey already had themworried


4 Disinformation


platforms that worry them the most are Facebook (49)news websites or apps (16) messaging apps (15)search engines (7) YouTube (6) and Twitter (2)

Two years earlier an SWSsurvey estimated that two-thirds of adult Filipino internetusers had perceived the fakenews problem on the internetas serious (40 very seriousand 26 somewhat serious)The proportion saying there is aserious problem of fake newson the internet was directlyrelated to the frequency ofusing it

That same year Pulse Asiareported that a large majority of Filipinos who hadaccessed social media accounts (88) were aware of fakenews on that platform with most of them (79) saying itwas widespread on social media

43 Electoral disinformation

Coming off the midterm elections in 2019 and facingnational elections scheduled in May 2022 respondentsare worried this early about the effects of disinformationon elections Slightly more than three-fourths (78) ofthem expressed apprehension with 44 saying they areldquovery worriedrdquo A tenth are not at all

A little more than half (52) of those who considered thespread of incorrect information a problem worry the mostabout its consequences on elections But even those whodid not consider disinformation a problem (35) share theconcern

As perturbed are the respondents who have highereducation live in Soccsksargen and access informationmainly through themedia or online

Least bothered are those in the 14 to 17 and 65-overgroups those with primary education or less and thosewho live in BARMM Those who turn mainly to publicpersonalities and religious leaders as well as tonewspapers or news articles posted by others forinformation likewise make up the highest proportion ofthe respondentswho believe incorrect informationwill notaffect elections

Borrowing a page fromDutertersquos novel campaignplaybook in 2016 national and local candidates in the2019 elections had fully integrated digital operations intheir campaign strategy investing considerably on socialmedia and resorting to ldquomore insidious and camouflagedrdquodisinformation practices according to the study ldquoTrackingdigital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine midtermelectionrdquo (see JonathanOngrsquos chapter)

Another study which analyzed fact checks producedduring the midterm elections by the collaborative fact-checking initiative Tsekph documented the pervasivenessof disinformation purveyed mostly on Facebook largely

through images and onnumerous occasions in theguise of news Oppositioncandidates and progressivegroups were the most targetedthe former being the frequentvictim of recycled andmisleading to downright falseinformation while the latterchiefly of red-tagging Noopposition candidate made it tothe Senate the first time since1938

Filipinos are as interested in politics (77) as they are inthe news according to theDNR2020More of them (44)are concerned about the false and misleading informationfrom the government politicians or political parties thanother sources it said Other sources here are ordinarypeople (15) journalists or news organizations (15)activists or activist groups (11) and foreign governments(9)

In addition they do not wholly relish political advertisingon television and social media Only two-thirds agree thatpoliticians should be allowed to advertise on television and59 on Facebook Google and Twitter

By the same token more than half (54) would like techcompanies to block an ad that could be inaccurate Theyalso expect journalists to report prominently false andmisleading statements from politicians (see ldquoPerceptionsof the NewsMediardquo)

44 Verifying the news

In spite of their awareness and worry over the extent ofdisinformation in the Philippines only a third have pickedup the habit of always verifying the news they get Anotherthird do it often and 7 never verify it at all

Males are less inclined than females to verify the news Themost unlikely to fact-check also belong to the oldest andyoungest groups (both 10) those with less than primaryschooling (22) live in BARMM (25) and are thewealthiest respondents (17) Similarly situated are thosewho acquire information mainly from public personalities(16) religious leaders (14) and offline (18)

However half of those who are extremely worried aboutthe effects of incorrect information during elections saidthey always verify the news

Lack of time (33) and lack of know-how (20) are thebiggest barriers to fact-checking Around 17 feel no needto verify because they said they trust their sourcewhereas

Borrowing a page fromDutertersquos novel campaign

playbook in 2016 national andlocal candidates in the 2019

elections had fully integrateddigital operations in their

campaign strategy investingconsiderably on social media

and resorting to lsquomoreinsidious and camouflagedrsquodisinformation practices


16 do not see it as their responsibility and 14 said theycannot be bothered to do so

More women than men cited both the lack of time and ofknow-how as hindrance Those who access informationfrom public personalities also point to both as the primaryreasons

Lack of time is more pronounced among respondents inthe 35-44 and 55-64 cohorts (38 and 37) withuniversity degrees live inMimaropa andWestern Visayasand rely more on news organizations for information

In contrast lack of know-how is more prominent amongrespondents in the 14-17 age group with only primaryeducation or less and live in Zamboanga PeninsulaNorthern Mindanao and Soccsksargen ZamboangaPeninsula and CAR have the biggest share of respondentswho see verifying the news not as their responsibilityNewspaper readers tend to think the sameway

A big proportion of those aged 65 and older believe thatthey can trust their source or said they cannot be botheredto fact-check

45 Legislating against disinformation

Apart from earning trust the inability to verify the news allthe time could very well be a reason for respondentsexpecting journalists to validate information as well asreport complete details and get all perspectives (seeldquoPerceptions of the News Mediardquo) But this together withthe concern over the spread of disinformation especiallyduring elections could very well be another reason anoverwhelmingmajority believe that there ought to be a lawagainst disinformation

Four in five of the respondents support legislation againstdisinformation Only 8do not and 12 said theydo not know

Outlawing disinformationis favored more byfemales (83) than males(78) those in their mid-30s to mid-60s (83 to84) those withuniversity degrees (90)those in Metro Manila(91) and WesternVisayas (88) and thosewith monthly incomes of P15001 to P80000 (84)

It also has support from respondents that rely on newsorganizations as a main source of information (88)especially newswebsites (90) and television (89) thosethat follow closely the news (89) those that worry themost about disinformation (86) including its effects on

elections (90) and even thosewho say they always verifythe news (89)

Those that disagree themost on theneed for such a lawarethose 65 and older (12) with primary education (23) inCaraga (27) with monthly incomes of P120001 toP160000 (12) and who obtain information mainly fromreligious leaders (18)

The Philippines has long have had a law against false newsThe 90-year-old Revised Penal Code through Article 154Section 18 penalizes the publication ldquoas news any falsenews which may endanger the public order or causedamage to the interest or credit of the Staterdquo It wasamended in 2017 to provide stiffer penalties a fine of up toP200000 and imprisonment of up to six months (seeJonathanOngrsquos chapter)

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act 11469)passed in late March 2020 granting Duterte emergencypowers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic alsocontains a provision Section 6f punishing individuals whospread false information about the crisis on social mediaand other platforms The Philippines is one of 17 statesthat passed regulation targeting disinformation during thepandemic amove the International Press Institute said hasldquohand(ed) autocrats new censorship toolsrdquo

The ad hoc law has expired but not before its vaguelyworded Section 6f was used to arrest and charge 60individuals (as of April 20 2020) In a number of instanceslaw enforcers combined it with other laws in coming upwith chargesmdashnot only Article 154 Section 18 on falsenews but also the its provision on libel (Article 353) andthe 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Actrsquos provision on onlinelibel Some were also warned that they could be punishedfor rumor-mongering and spreading false informationunder Presidential Decree No 90 a draconian Marcosian

law repealed by CorazonAquino months after shewas swept to thepresidency through theworldrsquos first people powerrevolution

Restriction of free-expression rights onlineand furthercriminalization of certainforms of online speechthrough the BayanihanAct and the Anti-

Terrorism Law inevitably led the US-based FreedomHouse to downgrade the Philippinesrsquo internet freedomscore

Responding to temporary restrictions on the exercise ofhuman rights including freedom of expression on thegrounds of public health across the world David Kaye

Apart from earning trust theinability to verify the news all thetime could very well be a reason

for respondents expectingjournalists to validate informationas well as report complete details

and get all perspectives


United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion andprotection of the right to freedom of opinion andexpression reminded governments of a 2017 declarationthat clearly states that general prohibitions on thedissemination of information based on ldquovague andambiguous ideas including lsquofalse newsrsquo or lsquononobjectiveinformationrsquo are incompatible with human rights law andshould be abolishedrdquo

ldquoVague prohibitions of disinformation effectively empowergovernment officials with the ability to determine thetruthfulness or falsity of content in the public and politicaldomain in conflict with the requirements of necessity andproportionality under Article 19rdquo Kaye said referring tothe right to freedomof opinion and expression espoused inthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)


How do you define the term fake newsIncomplete information

News thats bad for the president government News thats bad for the country Manipulated photos and videos None of the above

Untrue information Biased information Unverified information

All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15

Percentages may not add up to 100 due to roundingTotals may exceed 100 percent due to multiple answers


Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information

Unverified information

Incomplete information

News thats bad for the president government


Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income


Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000 P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000



20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA

NCRNorthern Mindanao

SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation

Unverifiedinformation

News thats badfor the president

government

News thatsbad for the

country

Manipulatedphotos and

videos

None ofthe above




Is the spread of incorrect information on important issues (eg health lawselections etc) a problem in the Philippines

Yes very much so Somewhat No not at all

All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR




How worried are you about the effects incorrect informationcan have on national elections

Very worried Not at all worriedSomewhat worried Not very worried

All

Age Group14-17 years old 35-44 years old18-24 years old 45-54 years old25-34 years old 55-64 years old 65 and over

6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley CALABARZON CARAGA Central

LuzonCentralVisayasBARMM CAR

NCR




How often do you verify a news story

Always NeverOften Sometimes

All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All

What is the main reason you are unlikely to verifythe information you consume

I dont know how to responsibly

No need to because I trust the source It is not my responsibility

Not enough time Cant be bothered because all media lie

Age Group14-17 years old 35-44 years old18-24 years old

45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender

Should there be a law against the intentionalspreading of incorrect information

Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR

The coronavirus pandemic has modified informationconsumption behavior globally including in the Philippineswhere the lockdown has by far been the worldrsquos longestand among the strictest Health institutionsmdashnot themediamdashare the top information source about COVID-19for Filipinos Consumption of online news related to theoutbreak is also lower than on normal occasions especiallyaway from social media accounts of news organizations

51 Information sources

On a regular day Filipinos tap news organizations first andfamily and friends second for information (see ldquoMediaConsumptionrdquo) This is not so with COVID-19

Health institutions are the No 1 source of information onSARS-CoV-2 (39) far greater than news mediaorganizations (25) family and friends (5) publicpersonalities (4) and religious leaders (5)

Access to public officials and political leaders hasi n c r e a s e d though only ifthe percentagesfor localg o v e r n m e n tunits (9) andnational politicalleaders (4) arec o m b i n e d H e a l t hprac t i t i onersaccount for10

Preference for the news media as the leading source ofinformation on COVID-19 is 30 percentage points lowercompared with when health institutions and healthpractitioners are not listed among the providers ofinformation Preference for most nonmedia sources issimilarly lesser down from as little as 1 point for religiousleaders and 4 points for public personalities to as much as18 points for family and friends Public officials are the loneexception enjoying a 3-point increase

Reduced media usage can be attributed to big decreasesamong respondentswho are female (33 points) aged 55 to64 (34 points) hold a masterrsquos degree (40 points) earnbetween P15001 and P30000 (38 points) and live inWestern Visayas (46 points)

The decline in reliance on friends and relatives as aninformation source is most felt in the 14 to 17 age group(20 points) and among those with less than primary

education (21 points) earn less than P15000 (19 points)and live in Davao and Ilocos (both 21 points)

Respondents who are largely responsible for publicpersonalities losing ground as providers of information arethe youngest (6 points) the wealthiest (7 points) made itonly to high school (6 points) and live in BARMM (7points)

Although the decrease in their following is minimalreligious leaders do have to contend with substantiallosses among respondents who are 65 and over and live inIlocos (both 5 points) The sector only has tiny gains amongthose aged 18 to 24 with less than primary education andlive in BARMMand Bicol

Public officials and political leaders (broken down into localgovernment units and national government leaders for thisCOVID-19 question) draw their biggest gains fromrespondents with the least schooling (13 points) and fromMimaropa and BARMM (both 11 points) The only groups

where their importance as aninformation source has contractedare among the P80001 toP120000 earners and in EasternVisayas (both 2 points)

The emergence of healthinstitutions and practitioners asimportant sources among Filipinoswhich can arguably be equated totrust reflects the trend in othercountries In a separate survey of sixcountries on COVID-19 the DNR2020 found trust in scientists and

doctors at a high 83 national health organizations at76 and global health organizations at 73 Both newsorganizations and national governments rank next 59with individual politicians lagging behind at 35

In the Philippines the percentage of females who obtaininformation first from health institutions is bigger than theproportion of males Reliance on health institutions riseswith the level the education Those with a university ormasterrsquos degree or higher are thrice as likely to rely onhealth institutions than those without primary educationThe latter rely nearly equally on the following sourceshealth institutions and local government (15 each)health practitioners religious leaders and newsorganizations (12 each) and family and friends nationalpolitical leaders and public personalities (11 each)

Among the regions BARMM depends the least on healthinstitutions (19) and the news media (13) forinformation about COVID-19

Health institutions are the No1 source of information on

SARS-CoV-2 far greater thannews media organizationsfamily and friends public



5 COVID-19


52 Gains for radio newspapers

For the respondents who primarily count on newsorganizations television comes first (40) unchangedfrom regular media consumption habits Websites of newsoutlets (29) and their socialmedia accounts (15) followahead of newspapers (7) radio (6) and news articlesposted by others (4)

Only social media accounts of news organizations show adecline by 6 percentage points compared with their usagefor non-COVID information The rest reflect gains from 1point for bothwebsites and news articles posted by othersto 2 points for radio and 3 points for newspapers

Overall television consumption is unchanged but distinctdifferences across groups can be seen Among the groupswith greater usage of television to obtain COVID-19information are the 65-over the P80001 to P120000cohort and those in Davao and Zamboanga Peninsularising from 7 to 11 points Larger declines can be traced tothe 45 to 54 age group (4 points) those with the leastschooling (12 points) as well as residents of Caraga (10points) and CAR (9 points)

Albeit having the biggest gains among the platformsnewspapers have small losses among two income groupsP15001 to P30000 and P80001 to P120000 as well asin Ilocos and Eastern Visayas Its boost is duemostly to theoldest cohort (5 points) those with less than primaryeducation (9 points) with P120001 to P160000 income(8 points) andMimaropa (11 points)

Like newspapers radiorsquos losses are only from four groupsthis time the oldest the P30001 to P80000 earners andSoccsksargen andMimaropa Its biggest gains are creditedto the P80001 to P120000 income group (13 points) andCAR (11 points)

Reduced reliance on social media accounts applies to allgroups except those without primary education and theP30001 to P80000 group Double-digit decreases from10 to 17 points are posted by the threewealthiest cohortsand seven regions Davao Soccsksargen NorthernMindanao Ilocos Central Visayas Zamboanga Peninsulaand CAR

In spite of its overall small gain websites as a source aboutCOVID-19 are less popular among the two oldest groupsthe two groups with the fewest years of schooling thepoorest and wealthiest and those living in nine regions ledby Caraga andWestern Visayas

Nearly all of Filipinos (987) follow COVID-19 relatednews and updates according to a mobile surveyadministered by the EON Group and research firmTangere to mostly Luzon residents in the private sector inlate March to early April or two weeks after the Luzon-wide lockdown Seven in 10 said they receive enoughCOVID-19 related news Traditional media are the main

source of news at 95 social media at 90 and websitesat 74

Specifically Philippine television recorded three millionnew viewers and an increase of more than 60 minutes ofviewing in the early weeks of the enhanced communityquarantine (ECQ) as detected by Kantar MediaPhilippinesrsquo TV audiencemeasurement service

Kantarrsquos global survey in April 2020 the COVID-19Barometer monitored a 70 growth in web browsing63 in traditional TV viewing and 61 in social mediaengagement over normal usage rates in different parts ofthe world in later stages of the pandemic It said thatincreased usage across all messaging platforms has beenthe biggest in the 18 to 34 age group

The survey also shows traditional nationwide newschannels (broadcast and newspaper) as the most trustedsources of information 52 identified them asldquotrustworthyrdquo followed by government agency websites at48 Social media platformswere regarded by only 11asa trustworthy source

Kantarrsquos September 2020 COVID-19 Barometerhowever found media consumption including socialmedia falling considerably since the end of April

53 Going offline

Slightly more nonmedia users (31) access informationabout COVID-19 offline compared with when they getinformation in general (29)

Among the nonmedia sources friends and families publicpersonalities and religious leaders experienced the shiftaway from online toward offline access The proportion ofrespondents who elect to go offline is highest among thosewho prefer religious leaders (47) and lowest amongthose who lean more on health institutions (26) forinformation about the pandemic

By regions the biggest proportion of those who go onlineto find out about COVID-19 comes from Davao (78)mdashnotMetroManila the epicenter at the time of the surveymdashclosely followed by Western Visayas (76) Those fromCagayan Valley and Caraga rely a great deal on offlinesources (44 and 43)

The EON-Tangere study said 92 of Filipinos usually gettheir information on COVID-19 from Facebook 73 fromYouTube 67 from group chats 39 from Twitter and36 from Instagram

Nearly 60 spend three to four hours a day on socialmedia apps during this period the primary drivers in usingthe apps being the following obtaining news and info(98) sharing them (97) communicatingwith family andfriends (97) and entertainment (83)


54 Disinfodemic

COVID-19 not only escalated into a pandemic it alsounleashed what the World Health Organization (WHO)calls an ldquoinfodemicrdquo (an overabundance of informationonline and offline) and worse what the United NationsEducational Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) labels as a ldquodisinfodemicrdquo (a surfeit ofdisinformation)

Launched in January 2020 by the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter (IFCN) theCoronaVirusFacts Alliance has discovered more than9000 false or misleading pieces about COVID-19 in morethan 70 countries and in more than 40 languages Thepioneering global fact-checking collaboration bringstogether over 100 fact checkers around the worldincluding Rappler and Vera Files from the Philippines bothverified IFCN signatories and third-party fact checkers ofFacebook

Citing various studies a UNESCO report in November2020 said that around 40 of COVID-19 related socialmedia posts had come from unreliable sources 42 ofover 178 million tweets analyzed in a research had beenproduced by bots 38 of nearly 50 million tweets hadbeen deemed to be ldquomanipulated contentrdquo and 40 millionproblematic posts hadbeen identified inMarch2020aloneby Facebook

In a global survey on the pandemic 81 of journalists saidthey have encountered disinformationmdash28 said manytimes a day 35many times aweek and 18weekly Theyidentified regular citizens (49) as the top sources ofdisinformation followed by political leaders and electedofficials (46) attention-seeking trolls (43) profiteers(38) propagandistic or heavily partisan news media orstate media (34) identifiable government agencies ortheir spokespeople (25) government-sponsored trollnetworks (23) celebrities (19) foreign influenceagents (8) The most prolific platform is Facebookaccording of 66 of the journalists followed by Twitter(42)WhatsApp (35) and YouTube (22)

In Metro Manila however the poll administered byPublicus Asia found respondents divided on whether thevolume of fake news had increased or decreased duringthe ECQ 34 said that it had decreased compared tobefore the lockdown 33 said that it had increased andanother third said that it was more or less the same

EON-Tangerersquos survey reported 96 of its respondentssaying they had fact-checked information received onCOVID-19 a figure much higher than Internewsrsquo findingon the frequency that Filipinos verify news they get (seeldquoDisinformationrdquo)

As partners of the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance Rapplercontributed a total of 164 COVID-19 fact checks andVERA Files 109 to the international database The two

news organizations were also active in Tsekph thecountryrsquos first collaborative fact-checking initiativelaunched for the 2019midterm elections

Rappler alongwith civil society also brought to Facebookrsquosattention a network of 57 Facebook accounts 31 pagesand 20 Instagram accounts originating in the Philippinesthat was found to have violated the platformrsquos policyagainst foreign or government interference The networkwhich Facebook said had links to the Philippine militaryand police was taken down in September 2020 forcoordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign orgovernment entity

Despite its conceded inability to outperformdisinformation in reach and speed the value of the fact-checking especially during elections and crises is widelyacknowledged as an effective means of counteringdisinformation with calls to support diverse independentfact-checking organizations andmechanismsmounting

For example fact checks marked up by publishers to makethem searchable on Google have been seen on theplatformrsquos ldquoSearchrdquo and ldquoNewsrdquo more than 4 billion timesbetween January and September this year exceeding all of2019 combined As previously mentioned Facebook inMarch 2020 alone placed warning labels on 40 millionposts rated as misinformation by its third-party factcheckers

But a few areas need working on

One study suggests that the reach of Facebookrsquos networkof third-party fact checking organizations is insufficientFacebook partners in many parts of the world appear tohave centered on viral disinformation surfaced by the techplatform for which their fact checks are monetized Thismay have contributed to their overlooking false ormisleading information spreading on other channels suchas YouTube

The Oxford Internet Institute said in a study released inSeptember 2020 that COVID-related misinformationvideos on YouTube are largely shared on Facebook ratherthan through the video sharing platform itself ButFacebook only placed warning labels about falseinformation on 55 COVID-related videos on YouTube lessthan 1 of the misinformation videos shared on theplatform it said

An unpublished paper of two University of the Philippinesprofessors who studied COVID-19 digital disinformationdebunked by Rappler and VERA Files from March to May2020 found Rappler acknowledging Facebookrsquos ClaimCheck dashboard as the source of 92of the claims it fact-checked for that period VERA Files made no similardisclosure but the research pinpointed at least 40 of itsfact checks also coming from Facebookrsquos queue bycrosschecking them against those done by Rappler and theplatformrsquos non-Philippine partners


The findings gain further significance in light of a discoveryof an ongoing study of two De la Salle Universityprofessors that YouTube is a big purveyor of historicalrevisionism favoring the late dictator Ferdinand Marcosand his family

The pandemic however has dealt a heavy blow not only tothe integrity of the truth but also to journalists

Some journalists have become vectors of misinformationamplifying falsehoods that undermine the publicrsquos trust inthe media At the other extreme are journalists who havebecome victims of disinformation

A UNESCO study said journalists who expose COVID-19disinformation find themselves as the targets ofdisinformation-fueled attacks Discrediting journalists andcredible news outlets it said is often associated withpolitical disinformation with unsupported accusationsthat certain news outlets are themselves peddling indisinformation

Evenworse COVID-19has turned into a ldquomedia extinctioneventrdquo It has forced several news outlets around theworldto fold in what could lead to ldquonews deserts for the publicrdquo

In the Philippines community journalism has been affectedthe most by the pandemic and the prolonged lockdownMany local newspapers across the country ceased printingduring the lockdown including one of the oldest dailynewspapers in Mindanao A number have sincetransitioned to the digital sphere while others haveresumed printing in more recent months but with reducedfrequency pages personnel and circulation Local radioand television stations are hurting as well Communitiespreviously reached only by ABS-CBN are now highlyunderserved because of the closure of all the networkrsquosregional stations All these have for sure restricted thevolume of verified news at the publicrsquos disposal

ldquoIn the absence of verified information disinformation fillsthe gaprdquo UNESCOwarned



All

Where do you go first when youre looking for information about COVID-19

Friends family and acquaintances

Public personalities Religious sector Health practitioners Health institutions

National political leaders Local government units NewsMedia organizations

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR



Specifically which platform do you mainly get information about COVID-19 from

TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3



Do you mainly get information from them about COVID-19online or offline

Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion

Buffeted by crises the Philippine media can take heartfrom the fact that they still wieldconsiderable importance amongFilipinos as a source of informationThey continue to command a largefollowing particularly traditionaltelevision Despite efforts todiscredit them journalists areregarded as the most accurate of allsources of information

But there are new realities they haveto come to grips with Their positionas information sources is beingchipped away by nonmedia sourcesespecially family and friends andpublic officials This is further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic Filipinos shift away from news organizationsthe most when scouring for information about the publichealth crisis

Overall preference for digital platforms as a source ofinformationmdashthe websites and social media of newsoutlets as well as news posted by articlesmdashalso makes thepivot to digital inevitable

Yet the mediaalso need tobear in mindthat a bigsegment of thePh i l i pp ines rsquop o p u l a t i o nr e m a i n soffline withmore goingoffline during a crisis as the Internews findings onCOVID-19 show

The paradox in the publicrsquos perceptions of the mediarequires further probing Althoughmost Filipinos consider

news organizations as the most accurate informationsource and their reports unbiased on the whole a sizableproportion think that they are less reliable than nonmedia

sources andtheir reportingof governmentis unfairmdashevengoing to theextent oflabeling newsbad for theg o v e r nmen tand presidentas ldquofake newsrdquoTrust in themedia is alsolow

At the same time however the public has clear and highexpectations of journalists Most Filipinos assert thatjournalismrsquos chief function is to verify information andreport all the details

They also unequivocally stress mediarsquos role of reportingverified news even if it offends people

The weight Filipinos attach to journalistic verificationevidently stems from their own inadequacies tofact-check the news they consume amid agrowing concern over the spread ofdisinformation including during elections Thatalso partly explains their overwhelmingpreference for a law that would penalizedisinformation which if gone wrong may onlyend up trampling upon human rights and freeexpression

Amid a confluence of crises journalists have nochoice but do a better job They need to retrace their stepsand wholly embrace the professionrsquos fundamental normsand principlesmdashlest an internal crisis exacerbate theunenviable situation they are already in


Overall preference for digitalplatforms as a source of

informationmdashthe websites andsocial media of news outlets as

well as news posted by articlesmdashalso makes the pivot to digital

inevitable

The public has clear and highexpectations of journalists MostFilipinos assert that journalismrsquos

chief function is to verifyinformation and report all the

details


References

American Press Institute (2016 April 17) A new understandingWhat makes people trust and rely on news Retrievedfrom httpswwwamericanpressinstituteorgpublicationsreportssurvey-researchtrust-news

Balod H S S amp Hameleers M (2019) Fighting for truth The role perceptions of Filipino journalists in an era of mis- anddisinformation Journalism doiorg1011771464884919865109

Bautista J (2020May 18) Flattening the TV curve Amedia researcherrsquos insights on the ABS-CBN shutdown Retrievedfrom httpsareteateneoeduconnectflattening-the-tv-curve-a-media-researchers-insights-on-the-abs-cbn-shutdown

Caliwan C (2020 April 15) PNP nabs 47 Covid-19 fake news peddlers Philippine News Agency Retrieved from httpswwwpnagovpharticles1099910

Chua Y (2020 June 16) Philippines Media under increased attack from populist president and allies In Reuters Institutefor the Study of Journalism Digital News Report 2020 Retrieved from httpswwwdigitalnewsreportorgsurvey2020philippines-2020

Chua Y amp Soriano J (2020) Electoral disinformation Looking through the lens of Tsekph fact checks Plaridel Journal17(1) pp 285-295

Edelman (2020 January 19) Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 Chicago Illinois Retrieved from httpsedlmn2NOwltm

Edelman (2020May 5) The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring update Trust and the Covid-19 pandemic ChicagoIllinois Retrieved from httpswwwedelmancomsitesgfilesaatuss191files202005202020Edelman20Trust20Barometer20Spring20Updatepdf

Elemia C (2020 August 15) Closure job cutsWhy COVID-19 spells death for community journalism Rappler Retrievedfrom httpswwwrapplercomnewsbreakin-depthclosure-job-cuts-covid-19-effects-local-journalism

EONGroup amp Tangere (2020) Public sentiment on COVID-19Makati City

EONGroup (2019) The Philippine Trust Index Makati City

Fighting the infodemic The CoronaVirusFacts Alliance (2020) Poynter Retrieved from httpswwwpoynterorgcoronavirusfactsalliance

Fletcher R (2020) Trust will get worse before it gets better In N Newman Digital News Project 2020 Journalism mediaand technology trends and predictions 2020 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Retrieved from httpswwwdigitalnewsreportorgpublications2020journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2020

Freedom forMedia Freedom for All Network (2020May 4) State of media freedom in PH --World Press FreedomDayreport Retrieved from httpsnewsabs-cbncomspotlight050420state-of-media-freedom-in-ph-world-press-freedom-day-report

FreedomHouse (2020) Freedom on the Net 2020 - Philippines Retrieved from httpsfreedomhouseorgcountryphilippinesfreedom-net2020

Gleicher N (2020 September 22) Removing coordinated inauthentic behavior Retrieved from httpsaboutfbcomnews202009removing-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-china-philippines

International Press Institute (2020 October 22) Rush to pass lsquofake newsrsquo laws during Covid-19 intensifying global mediafreedom challenges Retrieved from httpsipimediarush-to-pass-fake-news-laws-during-covid-19-intensifying-global-media-freedom-challenges

International Telecommunication Union amp UNESCO (2020 September) Balancing act Countering digital disinformationwhile respecting freedom of expression Paris Retrieved from httpswwwbroadbandcommissionorgDocumentsworking-groupsFoE_Disinfo_Reportpdf


InternetWorld Statistics (2020) Asia Retrieved from httpswwwinternetworldstatscomasiahtmph

Kantar (2020 April 3) COVID-19 barometer Consumer attitudes media habits and expectations Retrieved from httpswwwkantarcomnorth-americainspirationcoronaviruscovid-19-barometer-consumer-attitudes-media-habits-and-expectations

Kantar (2020 September 9) COVID-19 barometer shows consumers are in for the long haul Retrieved from httpswwwkantarcominspirationcoronaviruscovid-19-barometer-shows-consumers-are-in-for-the-long-haul

Knuutila A Herasimenka A Au H Bright J amp Howard P (2020) COVID-relatedmisinformation on YouTube OxfordInternet Institute Retrieved from httpscompropoiioxacukwp-contentuploadssites93202009Knuutila-YouTube-misinfo-memo-v1pdf

Labiste MD amp Chua Y (2020) From infodemic to disinfodemic A typology of COVID-19 disinformation debunked byfact-checkers in the Philippines (Unpublished)

Nayak P (2020 September 10) Our latest investments in information quality in Search andNews Retrieved from httpsbloggoogleproductssearchour-latest-investments-information-quality-search-and-news

Newman N (2020) Digital News Project 2020 Journalism media and technology trends and predictions 2020 ReutersInstitute for the Study of Journalism Retrieved from httpswwwdigitalnewsreportorgpublications2020journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2020

Newman N Fletcher R Schulz A Andi S amp Nielsen R (2020) Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 ReutersInstitute for the Study of Journalism Retrieved from httpsreutersinstitutepoliticsoxacuksitesdefaultfiles2020-06DNR_2020_FINALpdf

Ong J C Curato N amp Tapsell R (2019 August) Tracking digital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine midterm electionnewmandala Retrieved from httpswwwnewmandalaorgwp-contentuploads201908Digital-Disinformation-2019-Midtermspdf

Ovum (2019) OTTmedia services consumer survey ampOTTCSP partnership study Retrieved from httpswwwamdocscomsitesdefaultfilesOvum-OTT-market-study-2019-20pdf

Philippine Statistics Authority (2015) 2013 Functional Literacy Education andMassMedia Survey (FLEMMS) FinalReport Retrieved from httpspsagovphsitesdefaultfiles201320FLEMMS20Final20Reportpdf

Posetti J Bell E amp Brown P (2020) Journalism and the pandemic International Center for Journalists and the TowCenter for Digital Journalism at Columbia University Retrieved from httpswwwicfjorgsitesdefaultfiles2020-10Journalism20and20the20Pandemic20Project20Report201202020_FINALpdf

Posetti J amp Bontcheva K (2020) Disinfodemic Deciphering COVID-19 disinformation Paris UNESCO Retrieved fromhttpsenunescoorgcovid19disinfodemicbrief1

Publicus Asia (2020) Executive summary ndash Findings of NCRCOVID-19 online panel survey (third run) fieldwork May 5-82020 Retrieved from httpswwwpublicusasiacomexecutive-summary-findings-of-ncr-covid-19-online-panel-survey-third-run-fieldwork-may-5-8-2020

Pulse Asia (2018 October 10) September 2018 nationwide survey on social media use Retrieved from httpwwwpulseasiaphseptember-2018-nationwide-survey-on-social-media-use

ReportersWithout Borders (2020) 2020World Press Freedom Index Entering a decisive decade for journalismexacerbated by coronavirus Retrieved from httpsrsforgen2020-world-press-freedom-index-entering-decisive-decade-journalism-exacerbated-coronavirus

ReportersWithout Borders (nd) Philippines Retrieved from httpsrsforgenphilippines

Roschke K (2018 November 19) How the public news sources and journalists think about news in three communitiesRetrieved from httpsnewscollaborg20181119how-the-public-news-sources-and-journalists-think-about-news-in-three-communities


SocialWeather Stations (2018 June 11) 4th quarter 2017 and 1st quarter 2018 SocialWeather Surveys 67 of PinoyInternet users say there is a serious problem of fake news in the Internet Retrieved from httpswwwswsorgphswsmainartcldisppageartcsyscode=ART-20180611190510

SocialWeather Stations (2020 July 11) SWS July 3-6 2020 national mobile phone survey ndash Report No 2 3 out of 4Filipinos say Congress should renew the ABS-CBN franchise 56 consider its non-renewal a major blow to press freedomRetrieved from httpwwwswsorgphswsmainartcldisppageartcsyscode=ART-20200711190421

SocialWeather Stations (2020 August 7) SWS July 3-6 2020 national mobile phone survey ndash Report No 13 51 ofFilipinos agree that ldquoIt is dangerous to print or broadcast anything critical of the administration even if it is the truthrdquoRetrieved from httpwwwswsorgphswsmainartcldisppageartcsyscode=ART-20200807142142

SocialWeather Stations (2020 September 8) Fourth Quarter 2019 SocialWeather Survey Special Report 45 of adultFilipinos are Internet users Retrieved from httpswwwswsorgphswsmainartcldisppageartcsyscode=ART-20200908150946

Soriano C amp Gaw F (2020 September 22) Marcos in the digital space Presentation at the BALIK KASAYSAYAN AnOnline Conference on Historical Revisionism

Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (2020 April 23)Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression Report presented to the Human Rights Council 44thSession Retrieved from httpswwwundocsorgAHRC4449

Trusting News (nd) Research on trust Retrieved from httpbitlytrustingnewsresearch

UNESCO (2020) Journalism press freedom and COVID-19 Paris France Retrieved from httpsenunescoorgsitesdefaultfilesunesco_covid_brief_enpdf

We Are Social amp Hootsuite (2020 January) Digital 2020 ndash The Philippines Retrieved from httpsdatareportalcomreportsdigital-2020-philippines

We Are Social amp Hootsuite (2020 October) Digital 2020 October global statshot Retrieved from httpsdatareportalcomreportsdigital-2020-october-global-statshot

Have we reached peak disinformation

In 2017 the problem of disinformation was named as oneof humanityrsquos greatest challenges The dangers ofdisinformationhave beenw i d e l ydocumentedfrom shapinge l e c t o r a loutcomes toinciting ethnicconflicts Butas we learnmore aboutdisinformation tactics we are better able to respond todistortions in public communication as well as imaginepossibilities for future-proofing our democracies

My discussion piece focuses on trends in counter-disinformation strategies and attempts to reclaim thepublic sphere My strategy in developing this theme is tosituate practices of disinformation within the broaderpolitical transformations takingplace around the world and theirparticular manifestations in thePhilippines I begin with the premisethat disinformationrsquos power cannotbe reduced to command-and-control tactics of manipulationwhere ldquobad actorsrdquo exerciseoverwhelming influence indistorting public discourse InsteadI begin with the premise thatdisinformation practices areembedded in local cultures andentangled with the evolving landscape of politicalcommunication

Understanding disinformation and counter-disinformationpractices therefore demands an analysis on how both

practices shape and are shaped by these politicaltransformations

I focus on three transformations in this piece (1) theincreased value of emotional currencies in politics (2) thegrowing demands for sites for listening and (3) creativeattempts to filter disinformation with democratic

deliberation These focus areas are by nomeansexhaustive but they exemplify both thevulnerabilities and opportunities for defendingthe integrity of the public sphere I presentillustrative examples in each of these sectionsthat enliven these ideas This discussion piececoncludes by reflecting on what Philippinesrsquodemocracy ldquoafter disinformationrdquo could look likeand considering creative pathways to reach thisaim

1 Increased value of emotional currencies in politics

Citizens becoming more emotional rather than rationalpolitical actors is a cause of concern for many In the so-called age of anger populist leaders embolden ldquofuriousmajoritiesrdquo by putting their prejudices into practice A keydemographic voting for Donald Trump has been describedas ldquoangrywhitemenrdquowhile in the Philippines supporters of

Rodrigo Dutertehave beendescribed asldquo h a t e f u l rdquoldquoanxiousrdquo andldquo f r u s t r a t e d rdquoPeoplersquos desireto support ad om i n e e r i n gleader one studyfrom the UnitedStates (US) findslies in their

ldquovicarious participationrdquo in the punishment of out-groupssuch as immigrants in the case of the US and criminals anddrug addicts in the case of the Philippines

Fake news so the argumentgoes are ldquodeliberately affectiveand inflammatoryrdquo which deter

citizens from reaching consideredjudgment

76INFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY | AFTERDISINFORMATION

After disinformationCHAPTER II

Three experiments in democratic renewal inthe Philippines and around the world

Nicole CuratoAssociate Professor Centre for Deliberative Democracyand Global Governance University of Canberra

Understanding disinformationand counter-disinformation

practices therefore demands ananalysis on how both practicesshape and are shaped by these

political transformations

Introduction

The increasing value placed on emotions as politicalcurrency is often attributed to the architectures of socialmedia that elicit quick and unfiltered emotional responses

ldquoFake newsrdquo so the argument goes are ldquodeliberatelyaffective and inflammatoryrdquo which deter citizens fromreaching considered judgment

This prompts reflection on the value of fact checks In theacademic journal Sciencesixteen authors reportthat the sciencesupporting the efficacy offact checking at bestmixed After all can wefact check feelings

11 Historical revisionismand deep stories

Take the case of electionsIn 2019 my colleaguesand I led a study thatexamined the character ofdisinformation in thePhilippinesrsquo midtermelections One of the studyrsquos key findings is the importanceof ldquodisinformation narrativesrdquo with different emotionalregisters that resonate in public discourse Historicalrevisionism is an example where YouTube channelsmimicking the aesthetic of broadcast media subvert theldquoliberal memory paradigmrdquo by shifting the portrayal of theMarcos regime as one of the darkest periods in thecountryrsquos political history to a time of economic prosperityThese tactics have been in place long before the 2016 and2019 race where both Bongbong and ImeeMarcos ran forthe Vice Presidency and Senate respectively While therehave been various attempts from journalists educatorscelebrities and influencers to ldquoset the record straightrdquomemes claiming Marcos to bethe countryrsquos greatestPresident not only continue tocirculate but are also amplifiedby the President himself whoopenly celebrates the Marcoslegacy by burying the latedictator in the HeroesrsquoCemetery and supportingBongbong and Imee Marcosrsquospolitical ambitions Thecombination of the tone fromthe topmdashie Dutertersquosendorsement of the Marcos legacymdashand disinformationfrom belowmdashie producers of revisionist contents onlinemdashcreate a mutually reinforcing affective narrative thatsimultaneously combines feelings of nostalgia hope andirritation against the liberal version of history

Dierdre McKay further grounded this observation amongFilipinos in the diaspora Overseas Filipino Workers she

observed enjoy increased social status through thenumber of likes shares and comments of revisionistmemes they share on social media Overturning the liberalhistorical consensus has a particular emotional appeal forthe diasporic Filipinos As McKay puts it ldquothe idea ofconstantly working back towards a place that you have leftand the days lsquobeforersquo your departure when things werebetter more commodious more secure appeals tomigrants struggling with life abroadrdquo

This narration is areminder that historicalrevisionism through socialmedia is not a crudeattempt at manipulatingpublic conversation byunscrupulous actors butare rooted in ldquodeepstoriesrdquo of ordinaryFilipinos about how theyview themselves theirpersonal circumstancesand their relationshipwiththe nation

ldquoDeep storiesrdquo arguessociologist Arlie Hochschild ldquodo not need to be completelyaccurate but they have to feel truerdquo This one could arguepartially explains the challenges of educating againsthistorical revisionism because emphasizing historical factsdoes not always connect to felt experiences

12 Celebrity fandoms and the sentimental citizen

These emotions gaining increasing currency however isnot unique to this political moment nor is this necessarilybad news Stephen Coleman for example has longexplained that voting is driven by the importance of feelingbeing counted This is true for India where Mukulika

Banerjee and teamrsquosethnographic project finds thatit has high participation ratesbecause people find ldquoblissfulsatisfactionrdquo in elections being aldquoloud rambunctious equalizerin public liferdquo And the same istrue for the Philippines wheredespite all the dysfunctions ofits electoral system accordingto Filomeno Aguilar voting isstill experienced as a ldquoritualizedgamblerdquo where citizens

experience excitement as they place their bets on theircandidates

The exuberance surrounding elections is felt in both masscampaigns as well as in online spaces

These studies among others underscore the ambivalentrole of the ldquosentimental citizenrdquo in democratic life They can

This narration is a reminder thathistorical revisionism throughsocial media is not a crude

attempt at manipulating publicconversation by unscrupulousactors but are rooted in deep

stories of ordinary Filipinos abouthow they view themselves their

personal circumstances and theirrelationship with the nation

By emphasizing the personalemotional and indeed playful

character of social media we cansituate the problem of

disinformation to a broaderdiscussion of what kind of politics

can be performed in a digitalsocial space



perpetuate disinformation that seed suspicion or provokefeelings of anger but they can also stimulate feelings ofexcitement that can be translated to defending spaces fordemocratic contestation To appreciate the democraticpotential of the sentimental citizen it is important for us torecognize that social media is not designed to serve anextension of the news and information ecosystem As thename suggests the logic ofsocial media is to facilitatesocial conversations thatbuild emotionalattachments to groups Inthe Philippines socialmedia has become alifeline to Filipinos to reachthe diasporic populationseeking to maintainconnection to friends andfamilies overseas It is not an accident therefore that theplatform designed for interpersonal connection makes thepolitical personal Our political identities are constructedby stylized expressions of what we feel using simplifiedcultural content like emojis and selfies and personalizedidentifications of politicians like Bernie and Joe andindeed Tatay Digong and Inday Sara

By emphasizing the personal emotional and indeedplayfulcharacter of social media we can situate ldquothe problem ofdisinformationrdquo to a broader discussion of what kind ofpolitics can be performed in a digital social space

The fascinating case of WeBlockAsOne comes tomind InMay 2020 fans of mega-celebrities Kathryn Bernardo andDaniel Padilla organized a counter-trolling operation toldquoprotectrdquo these actors from attacks by influencersassociated to the Duterte administrationrsquos ldquopropagandamachinerdquo Within minutes after a vocal Duterte supporterlivestreamed his criticism against the actors for speakingup against the shutdown of media giant ABS-CBNBernardo and Padillarsquos fans organized an ldquoRBM (ReportBlock Mute) Partyrdquo on Twitter They coordinated thiscampaign through the hashtag WeBlockAsOnemdashawordplay on the governmentrsquoscoronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) response sloganWeHealAsOne This campaignmay seem mundane andephemeral but it elucidates thepossibilities of defending spacesfor democratic contestation in a digital public sphere byembracing the social and affective logics of social media

First the WeBlockAsOne campaign was not organizedaround an overtly political position (eg anti-Duterte) butwas crafted around intense emotional attachment to twoof the countryrsquos most celebrated movie stars ldquoProtectKathNiel at all costrdquo was a loaded appeal of loyalty withinthe celebrity fandom Fans recognized the vulnerability ofactors not only to troll-driven ldquocancel culturerdquo but alsobecause these actorsrsquo careers are on the line due to their

networkrsquos closure The campaign built a ldquobig tentrdquo thatbrought together fans regardless of their politicaldispositions and instead emphasized the importance ofloyalty to celebrities when times are tough This socialmedia campaign that defended the digital public spheretherefore was built on social not political foundationsSecond the campaign demonstrated clarity in tactics

ldquoPrioritize talking headsrdquowas one of the organizersrsquoinstructions to fellow fansby which they meant massreporting Duterte-alliedinfluencers who hadprovided talking points fortrolls to amplify Thisinstruction was coupledwith warnings not tomention the names of

these influencers (they uploaded screen grabs of accountsinstead) so their names do not trend Third the campaignwas global Organizers tagged Bernardo and Padillarsquos fansinMalaysia and Indonesia to take part in the campaign andlinked up with other celebrity fandoms to join their RBMTwitter party These tactics are consistent with K-popstans lending support to anti-Trump and Black LivesMatter protests in theUS Finally the campaign built on fancultures of joy and positivity with moderators remindingfans not to bash other celebrities and instead stay focusedon the task of blocking muting and reporting trollsattacking their idols That the campaignwas called a ldquopartyrdquoserves as a counterpoint to the aggressive and hatefulapproach of Duterte-allied influencers by focusing onnorms of cooperation and celebrating collectiveachievements when a trollrsquos account got suspended

What can we learn from this case of celebrity fandom Theintention of this case study is not to romanticize a good-versus-evil narrative (this indeed has been a harmful arcfor democracy) but to draw critical insights about therelationship between emotion disinformation andpolitical practice Much like the playful and highly emotivecharacter of historical revisionist content

WeBlockAsOne was built onintense emotional identificationswith fans that can be translated toa democratic practice ofdefending the integrity of thedigital public sphere by reportingtroll accounts deep fakes and

threatening messages They are also built on a deep storythat fans constructed about their relationship withcelebrities which makes defending them from attacks aplausible plan of action

While fandoms are topical examples of how emotionalconnections and personal loyalties result to an inadvertentdefense of the integrity of the digital public sphere theyalso point to the limits of emotions as currencies in politicallife Surely Bernardo and Padilla are not the first and onlypersonalities vilified on social media but they are certainly

Attention is the scarcestresource in todayrsquos

hypermediated societies

The exuberance surroundingelections is felt in both mass

campaigns as well as in onlinespaces

Gising Duterte himself was well-versed in this genre AsDavao mayor he headlined the weekly television showGikan saMasa Para saMasa where he directly respondedto his constituentsrsquo queries and complaints and in someinstances directed City Hall officials to act on citizensrsquoreports This culture remains alive today in radio andtelevision personified by ldquomedia strongmenrdquo such as theTulfo brothers

The sumbungan culture takes a different shape in the digitalpublic sphere Filipinos have learned to directly reporttheir complaints to politicians through their Facebookpages bypassing the need for mediators in broadcastmedia

In recent typhoons for example residents trapped in theirhomes called for help through tweets and direct messagesto government officials as well as influencers who canamplify their appeal

Meanwhile place-basedFacebook groups havealso been gaining tractionas a platform forinteractive listeningFacebook groups likeIligan Pulse (150kmembers) Masbate News(303k members) andMarawi Pulse (2kmembers) serve thefunction of a newsletterwhere posts vary from

queries about water interruption to advertisements ofskin whitening soaps to hosting watch parties of MissUniverse Philippinesrsquo coronation night Other groups takea more precise purpose Bacolod Exposed (305kmembers) for example was designed for members toldquoexpose their concerns on the inefficiency of governmentand officialsrdquo One could argue that these digitalinnovations are necessary in so-called ldquonews desertsrdquowhere information accessible through local news mediaare scarce or places where radio broadcasters areperceived to be biased or corrupt It is worth monitoringwhether the closure of ABS-CBNrsquos regional offices haveimplications to the spread and use of these groups

Unlike the traditional sumbungan genre of the mass mediathe grievance culture in these pages take a different shapeFirst there is no heroic news anchor listening to the voicesof powerless callers In their place are fellow citizens wholisten amplify support and sometimes criticize each otherIn Iligan Pulse for example amember called out theMayorand his Councilors to reconsider an ordinance aboutcurfew and enumerated its logical flaws This postgenerated nearly 600 likes and 600 comments from fellowmembers who affirmed the argument through clap emojisand encouraging comments like ldquovery well saidrdquo The toneof the threadwas unlike the traditional sumbungan genre ofpowerless citizen pleading for help and instead the tone

the among best defended personalities from these attacksOne might wonder what it takes for such impassioneddefence to extend to other ordinary citizens who wish tospeak up but have no luxury of having a loyal fanbase asinsurance against state-sponsored disinformation

2 Growing demands for sites of listening

Attention is the scarcest resource in todayrsquoshypermediated societies

There are many opportunities for ordinary citizens toexpress their views but there are no guarantees that theseviews will be heard A consequence of this is the increasinginterest in cultivating practices of listening that connectcitizensrsquo voices to powerful decision-makers At themoment listening in social media has become a practicemastered by tech companies commercial operations andindeed the disinformation industry These groups haveactionable data about thepublic mood andsentiments which informstrategies ofm i c r o t a r g e t i n g Sociologist SoshanaZuboff uses the conceptldquosurveillance capitalismrdquoto characterize thiscontemporary reality

The practices of sociallistening mentioned abovehaveone critical limitationThey are extractive rather than communicative Listeningis used for surveillancemdashto harvest data that can be usedfor commercial or political purposes It does not seek toestablish relationships of accountability between citizensand people in power This is what I mean by the growingdemands for sites of listening in todayrsquos democracyCitizens are looking for spaces where their voices areheard amplified and connected to actors who can act ontheir claims Unlike surveillance listening is an interactiverelationship

21 Sumbungan culture

There has long been a demand for sites of listening in thePhilippinesmdasha country where voices of disadvantagedcommunities have often been dismissed as uneducatedstubborn and corruptibleOften this demand ismet by theinstitutions of the mass media that feature the sumbong orgrievances of audiences in radio and television programsIn these programs anchors portray themselves as allies ifnot heroes who empathetically listen to their callersrsquostories of suffering and act on these grievances by callingand sometimes shaming responsible governmentagencies Ted Failonmdashone of the most respectedpersonalities in broadcast media todaymdashbuilt his careerboth as a broadcaster and politician on the sumbungangenre popular in the 1990s through the program Hoy


The sumbungan culture takes adifferent shape in the digital publicsphere Filipinos have learned todirectly report their complaints topoliticians through their Facebook

pages bypassing the need formediators in broadcast media

affirmations of Banat Byrsquos comments with occasional pile-on unto opposition personalities in the hot seat

The livestream on ABS-CBNrsquos shutdown is one exampleOn Jul 16 2020Banat Bylivestreamed anepisode entitledldquoABSCBN atKOMUN I S TAnag alyansardquo Itgarnered more

than 38k views In that show Banat By and his co-hostMark Lopez interviewed Congressman Boying Remullawho unequivocally declared that ABS-CBN and the LiberalParty (ldquothe yellowsrdquo) were colluding with the New PeoplersquosArmy Most commenters affirmed Remullarsquos claim Somesaid thank you Others applauded his ldquoprinciplesrdquo Manypiled onABS-CBN andpublished claims that the networkrsquosreporters had access to rural areas and insinuated howthese reporters had engaged in illegal activities Othersrepeated the common accusation of the networkrsquos biaswhile others did not stop short of tagging ABS-CBN as aterrorist organization that should be covered by the Anti-Terror Law There were some who called their fellow DDS(Diehard Duterte Supporters but originally stands for thevigilante group Davao Death Squad) to amplify the videoby sharing it on Facebook Instagram and TikTok

This illustrative example reveals a different form oflistening in social media Listening happens in twodirections Banat By listens to his audiences via thecomments section Audiences listen to Banat By and theirco-participants in the comments section and boostcomments that they agree with by clicking like Unlike the

sumbungan platforms describedearlier the tone in this platform isopenly hostile and hyper-partisanThehostility is basedonperceivedinjuries caused by the person ororganization being discussedwhether it is ABS-CBN and theCommunist Party RisaHontiveros and PhilHealth orVice President Leni RobredoNeedless to say this YouTubechannel among others is anunmitigated site ofdisinformation commanding alarge enough committed followingto co-create and amplifyfalsehoods produced in the

channel

This offers several lessons for reclaiming the public sphereFirst the demands for spaces of listening regardless of thecharacter of these platforms have similar originsmdashanattempt to seek attention in a public sphere organizedaround hierarchies of voice It is not an accident that thedigital forms of sumbungan take the form of an enclave

was that of an active citizen demanding accountability Thepost critical of the local government was also met withcounterarguments with some suggesting that the curfewlessened incidences of crime in their area Interspersedwithin the comments section are casualrumors and hearsay (ie my friend told mehellip)just like everyday conversations at home andamong neighbors Worth tracking thereforeare systematic attempts to sow doubt andseed disinformation in these private groupsthrough posts pretending to be casualcomments but with malicious intentions andtactics That these groups merge the social with thepolitical makes these sites particularly vulnerable todisinformation While admins are clear in enforcing normsof respect and especially careful of members not to smeareach otherrsquos reputations the less overt forms ofdisinformation can easily slip under the radar

22 Disinformation via pile-on culture

In the previous section I described how the sumbunganculture has evolved from powerless citizens turning to aheroic news anchor for help to attentive citizens turning toa Facebook group to listen amplify as well as criticize eachotherrsquos claims In this section I characterize anotherdynamic of online listeningmdashone where participantscollectively express their grievance in an aggressivemanner This practice is akin to the digital public spherersquosldquopile-onrdquo culture where hostile groups gang up or harshlycriticize a less dominant group at least in their circles

On some occasions disinformation provides the materialto intensify aggression

Banat ByrsquosYouTube channelis an illustration ofthis practiceBanat By is aYouTube celebrity(430k followerson YouTube) whogained hisfollowing amongthe vocalsupporters ofP r e s i d e n tDuterte His hour-long YouTubelivestreams followthe format of aradio commentary which begins with novelty tunes towarm up the listeners followed by greetings tocommenters on the page and then a series ofcommentaries on the news of the day On the right-handside of the screen are live comments from viewers whofollow social norms of digital gatherings They say goodevening they introduce themselves and declare wherethey are watching the stream This is followed by

In response to politicalpolarization mistrust of expertsand the spread of disinformationpolicymakers at both local andnational level have conceded tothe need for carefully designedand independently run inclusive

deliberative forums to betterconnect ordinary citizens to

democratic decision-making


On some occasionsdisinformation provides the

material to intensify aggression


Place-based Facebook groups and hyper-partisanYouTube channels regardless of their content andoutcome provide a hospitable space for participants tosecure attention among similarly situated peers Seconddemands for listening signal the need to better designprocesses and spaces that promote empathetic listeningand meaningful engagement The popularity of Banat ByrsquosYouTube page is not accidental for the page captures thegrievances and mood of the Presidentrsquos supporters Whatwas once the turf of mass media has now shifted to hyper-partisan celebrity influencers and the democratic future ofsumbungan culture it seems hangs on the balance

3 Creating attempts to filter disinformation withdemocratic deliberation

Early this year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched a reportthat observed a ldquodeliberative waverdquo unfolding in Europeand the rest of the world

In response to political polarization mistrust of expertsand the spread of disinformation policymakers at bothlocal and national level have conceded to the need forcarefully designed and independently run inclusivedeliberative forums to better connect ordinary citizens todemocratic decision-making

From the French Citizensrsquo Assembly on Climate Changeconvened by no less than President Emmanuel Macron tothe institutionalization of ldquosortition bodyrdquo in Belgiumwhere randomly selected ordinary citizens can set theagenda for the legislature there is increasing evidence thatcitizens can engage with complex information anddeliberate with unlike-minded people as long as theseconversations take place in carefully designed forums Inthe French Citizensrsquo Assembly for example ordinarycitizens including a bus driver a student and a plumber hadaccess to experts on standby to fact check technicalinformation about climate science Outside Europe thedeliberative wave has also unfolded in Japan South Koreaand Mongolia where divisive political matters are subjectto citizensrsquo deliberation

31 Traditions of deliberation

Thedeliberativewave in thePhilippines is yet to unfold butthere are concrete examples to build on Naga City is oftendescribed as the center of participatory governance in thePhilippines where civil society groups are empowered toinfluence the conduct of local governance Through theNaga Peoplersquos Council peoplersquos organizationsrepresenting urban poor communities persons withdisabilities and senior citizens are able table issues fordeliberation in the local development council andtherefore shape the course of policymaking andimplementation There are many other examples ofparticipatory innovations outside of Naga City all of whichpoint to the fact that ordinary citizens are willing and ableto process complex information and deliberate on

technical issues when they are given the opportunity toscrutinize evidence and discuss their ideas with theirfellow citizens and decision-makers These practices ofcourse are not without their flaws and they too arevulnerable to elite co-optation but I underscore thesepractices to emphasize the possibility of slow thinking andcareful interactions among fellow citizens amidst thebackdrop of widespread disinformation

32 Filtering disinformation with democratic deliberation

There are many more possibilities to filter disinformationwith democratic deliberation Here I draw on my ownstudy about holding a deliberative forum among residentsin an urban poor community in Quezon City that haswitnessed a spate of killings related to the drug war Thisforumwas experimental in nature My research team and Iconvened it for academic purposes Our goal was toexamine whether deliberation could unfold in a tense andhyper-partisan political environment among citizens whohad witnessed the consequences of the drug war first-hand

We recruited around twenty respondents based onpurposive random selection We mixed self-confessedsupporters of the drug war with so-called ldquotokhangfamiliesrdquo mothers or widows of those who were killed indrug-related police operations or unidentifiedmotorcycle-riding gunmen The day-long deliberative forum wasconducted in a modest conference room at the Ateneo deManila Universitymdasha space we considered neutralwelcoming and safe for all participants We started theforum with a social session where participants had thechance to get to know each other This was followed by anorm-building session where the ldquorules of engagementrdquowere defined by participants themselves Everyone agreedto be honest respectful and open-minded We then gavethem the charge of the forum to think of proposals toenhance the security of their neighborhoodWeclarified tothe participants that our activity is for an academic studyand not linked to policymaking The rest of the day wasspent in breakout groups and plenary sessionsParticipants were tasked to diagnose safety issues in theircommunity and propose ideas to address these issues

It did not take long for tensions to emerge in deliberationSome participants expressed a popular view on socialmedia about drug addicts deserving their fate Someprefaced their statement with qualifiers like ldquowith all duerespectrdquo and then pinned blame on mothers and widowsfor failing to look after their family members who joinedgangs to sell drugs Disinformation alsomade its way in thesessions Someparticipants reiterated thePresidentrsquos falseclaim about the rate of drug addiction in the countryOthers cited the effectiveness of death penalty in reducingcrime There was also nostalgia for Martial Law describedas a time when people had respect for the law

Participants did not reach consensus at the end of theforum as far as their policy preferences remained different


and quite fragmented (there was a long list of proposalswhich is to be expected in a short deliberative forum)What changed however was the empathy developedamong neighbors

ldquoTokhang familiesrdquo apologized to their neighbors on behalfof their husbands and sons for causing trouble They saidsorry for the anxiety caused by their loved ones sellingdrugs especially to their neighborsrsquo younger children Asldquotokhang familiesrdquo began to cry supporters of the drugwarconsoled them by saying that they understood that theirfamily members needed to make a living that they had todeal drugs because they did not want to see their familiesgo hungry ldquoHe did that because he loved yourdquo as one self-confessed drug warsupporter put it tocomfort a womanwho losther husband in a policeoperation

In our post-deliberationsurvey most participantsexpressed satisfactionwith the process Theyfound value in a carefulfacilitated and structureddiscussion to hear eachotherrsquos stories toovercome the temptationto make quick judgmentsand to go out of theirbubbles and engage with others ldquoTokhang familiesrdquo foundit valuable that they were able to overcome their shameface their harshest critics and defend the life choices oftheir husbands and sons This site of listening was a rareopportunity for them

This deliberative forum is a pilot test case to examine thepossibility of respectful and thoughtful deliberation amidstdisinformation While more work needs to be done infinetuning the design and scaling up this initiative thisexample illustrates the importance of curating spacesspecifically designed for norms of deliberation to take rootNeedless to say social media are not designed to be spacesfor deliberation They are designed for speedycommunication that thrives on instinctsWhile I have citedexamples in the previous section on how spontaneoussocial media campaigns can inadvertently defend thedigital public sphere it is worth recognizing that these willremain exceptions to platforms that are not designed to be

deliberative in the first place It is worth pursuing designquestions about creating spaces for communicationwhether online offline or hybrid that can facilitate public-spirited deliberation

Conclusion

This discussion piece started with the question have wereached the peak of disinformation As we learn moreabout the tactics and underlying logics of disinformationwe are also increasingly observing counter-disinformationstrategies that defend the integrity of the public sphere

I conclude this piece with two key messages to provokefurther conversations onthis matter First as theillustrative examplespresented in this piecedemonstrate counter-disinformation strategiesdo not unfold in perfectc o m m u n i c a t i v eenvironments with pureintentions Whether it isfans whose only goal wasto protect their idols orplace-based Facebookgroups that make up fornews deserts thesedevelopments are not tobe romanticized

nevertheless worth recognizing to demonstrate possiblespaces for collective action

Second disinformation is embedded in broader socialtransformations and so its shape content and logic areshape-shifting depending on current conditionsAddressing disinformation therefore cannot be reducedto discrete attempts in the form of regulation techno-solutionism and top-down education campaigns Like darkmoney spin doctors and other distortions in publicdiscourse disinformation may be a problem that nevergoes away but it can be managed with a combination oflarge-scale political reform and micropolitical culturalshifts The Philippines after disinformation does notpromise a utopia but a nation that learns to navigate aseries of gray areas

Participants did not reachconsensus at the end of the forumas far as their policy preferences

remained different and quitefragmented (there was a long list ofproposals which is to be expected in

a short deliberative forum) Whatchanged however was the empathy

developed among neighbors


References

Aguilar F (2005) Betting on Democracy Electoral Ritual in the Philippine Presidential Campaign Philippine Studies httpwwwjstororgstable42633736

Arguillas C (2020March 1) Once upon a time Duterte was a lsquoKapamilyarsquo star MindaNews Retrieved from httpswwwmindanewscomtop-stories202003once-upon-a-time-duterte-was-a-kapamilya-star

Bakir V ampMcStay A (2017 July 20) Fake News and The Economy of Emotions Digital Journalism httpsdoiorg1010802167081120171345645

Banerjee M (2016 November 11) Elections in India are a loud rambunctious equaliser in public life The London School ofEconomics and Political Science Retrieved from httpsblogslseacuksouthasia20161111elections-in-india-are-a-loud-rambunctious-equaliser-in-public-life

Cabantildees J Anderson CW ampOng JC (2019) Fake News and Scandal The Routledge Companion toMedia and ScandalRetrieved from httpsscholarworksumasseducommunication_faculty_pubs88

Claudio L (2016) Basagan ng Trip Complaints about Filipino Culture and Politics Anvil Publishing Inc Retrieved fromhttpsbooksgooglecomsgbooksid=3TWWDwAAQBAJampdq=22sumbong22+culture+philippines+tulfoampsource=gbs_navlinks_s

Coleman S (2013) How Voters Feel Cambridge Cambridge University Press httpdoiorg101017CBO9781139035354

Conroy J O (2017 February 27) Angry white men the sociologist who studied Trumps base before Trump TheGuardian Retrieved from httpswwwtheguardiancomworld2017feb27michael-kimmel-masculinity-far-right-angry-white-men

Curato N (2016 December 1) Politics of Anxiety Politics of Hope Penal Populism andDutertes Rise to Power Journal ofCurrent Southeast Asian Affairs httpsdoiorg101177186810341603500305

Frost R (2020 November 9)Why are citizens assemblies on climate change necessary Euronews Retrieved from httpswwweuronewscomliving20200911why-are-citizens-assemblies-on-climate-change-necessary-

Garrido M (2020 October 20) A conjunctural account of upper- andmiddle-class support for Rodrigo DuterteInternational Sociology httpsdoiorg1011770268580920945978

Gaw F amp Soriano CR (2020 July 30) [ANALYSIS] Banat By Broadcasting news on YouTube against newsmakersRappler Retrieved from httpswwwrapplercomvoicesimhoanalysis-banat-by-broadcasting-news-youtube-against-newsmakers

Gerbaudo P (2018) Fake news and all-too-real emotions Surveying the social media battlefield Brown Journal ofWorldAffairs 25(1) 85-100

Gutierrez N (2017 August 18) State-sponsored hate The rise of the pro-Duterte bloggers Rappler Retrieved fromhttpsr3rapplercomnewsbreakin-depth178709-duterte-die-hard-supporters-bloggers-propaganda-pcoo

Heaven D (2017 February 28) A guide to humanityrsquos greatest challenges BBC Retrieved from httpswwwbbccomfuturearticle20170228-a-guide-to-humanitys-greatest-challenges

Kavenna J (2019 October 4) Shoshana Zuboff lsquoSurveillance capitalism is an assault on human autonomyrsquo The GuardianRetrieved from httpswwwtheguardiancombooks2019oct04shoshana-zuboff-surveillance-capitalism-assault-human-automomy-digital-privacy

Knights D amp Thanem T (2019 October 9) Fake news emotions and experiences not more data could be the antidoteThe Conversation Retrieved from httpstheconversationcomfake-news-emotions-and-experiences-not-more-data-could-be-the-antidote-123496


Lazer D BaumM Benkler Y Berinsky A Greenhill K Menczer F Metzger M Nyhan B Pennycook G Rothschild DSchudson M Sloman S Sunstein C Thorson E Watts D amp Zittrain J (2018March 9) The science of fake newsScience httpsdoiorg101126scienceaao2998

Marcus G (2002) The Sentimental Citizen Emotion in Democratic Politics Pennsylvania State University PressRetrieved from httpsbooksgooglecoukbooksaboutThe_Sentimental_Citizenhtmlid=L-ITnwEACAAJampredir_esc=y

McKay D (2020) Decorated Duterte Digital Objects and the Crisis ofMartial LawHistory in the Philippines ModernLanguages Open httpdoiorg103828mlov0i0316

Mishra P (2016 December 8)Welcome to the age of anger The Guardian Retrieved from httpswwwtheguardiancompolitics2016dec08welcome-age-anger-brexit-trump

Newmandala (2020May 1) Philippines beyond clicheacutes season 2 5 participatory governance is a hoax Retrieved fromhttpswwwnewmandalaorgphilippines-beyond-cliches-season-2-5-participatory-governance-is-a-hoax

OECD (2020) Innovative Citizen Participation and NewDemocratic Institutions Catching the DeliberativeWave OECDPublishing Paris httpsdoiorg101787339306da-en

Ong JC (2020) Limits and luxuries of slow research in radical war how should we represent perpetrators DigitalWarhttpsdoiorg101057s42984-020-00006-x

Ong JC Curato N amp Tapsell R (2019 August) Tracking digital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine midterm electionNewmandala Retrieved from httpswwwnewmandalaorgwp-contentuploads201908Digital-Disinformation-2019-Midtermspdf

Reuchamps M (2020 January 17) Belgiumrsquos experiment in permanent forms of deliberative democracy ConstitutionNetRetrieved from httpsconstitutionnetorgnewsbelgiums-experiment-permanent-forms-deliberative-democracy

Rodan G (2018) Participation without Democracy Cornell University Press Retrieved from httpswwwcornellpresscornelledubook9781501720116participation-without-democracybookTabs=2

Smith D N ampHanley E (2018) The Anger GamesWho Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election andWhy CriticalSociology httpsdoiorg1011770896920517740615

Vedantam S PenmanM Klahr R Schmidt J Cohen R Boyle T amp Connelly C (2017 January 24) Strangers in TheirOwn Land The Deep Story of Trump Supporters NPR Retrieved from httpswwwnprorg20170124510567860strangers-in-their-own-land-the-deep-story-of-trump-supporterst=1605106017985

The Philippines stands out in the global disinformationecosystembecause of the diverse range of digital influenceoperations comingfrom the State theprivate sector andi n d i v i d u a lentrepreneurs justas there have beenactive resistancefrom journalistsactivists andr e s e a r c h e r s drawing globalattention to localchallenges

D i s i n f o rma t i o ni n n o v a t i o n scontinue to emergeand evade platforms and their fact-checkers from micro-level influencers operating in smaller groups (Ong et al2019) and private channels to the internationallynetworked operations by Philippinesrsquo military agentsworking with mainland Chinese digital armies (Nimmo etal 2020)

The evolution and diversification of ldquotrollingrdquo only suggestthat the underlying infrastructuresthat make disinformation productionnot only possible but also immenselyprofitable have yet to be sufficientlyunderstood and dismantled

Complicating the fight against ldquofakenewsrdquo in the country is that it wouldinvolve challenging or circumventingcensorship from the State In 2020the Philippines introducedcontroversial and overreaching anti-fake-news regulations fraught with potential harms as itextends the Statersquos surveillance of social media withvaguely defined terms and limits In the broader context of

a violent drug war media shutdowns harassment ofjournalists and weak institutions such measures deepen

chilling effects and entrenchcultures of silencing givenunpredictable andunaccountable implementationmeasures

We need systematic researchand journalist reportage thatgoes beyond calling out ldquofakenewsrdquo as false speech tounderstand the workarrangements and businesscontracts behind disinformationproduction as I have previouslyargued (Ong amp Cabanes 2019)We also need to invest in moresurveys of users of social

mediamdashsummarized by Yvonne Chua in Chapter 1mdashandlistening projects of populist supportersmdashsuch as thoseundertaken by Nicole Curato (2016) These insights areimportant resources for us to identify how we couldharness diverse tools of legislation (Can we build betterconnections with imperfect allies in the legislature todevelop accountability mechanisms in election campaignsand transparency measures in political consultancies)

industry (Can we putpressure on industry tobuild self-regulationmechanisms that can holdpolitical consultantsaccountable) electionscommissions (Can wesupport election monitorsto track politicianscampaign expendituresand provide them withbetter data management

in fairer work arrangements) and the media (Can we helpjournalists attend to the porous boundaries between

Disinformation innovationscontinue to emerge and evade

platforms and their fact-checkersfrom micro-level influencers

operating in smaller groups andprivate channels to the

internationally networkedoperations by Philippinesrsquo military

agents working with mainlandChinese digital armies

85INFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY | DISINFORMATIONAT A TURNING POINT

Disinformation at aturning point

CHAPTER III

Spotlight on the Philippines

Jonathan Corpus OngAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Communication UMass AmherstResearch Fellow Shorenstein Center Harvard University

Introduction

We need systematic researchand journalist reportage that goesbeyond calling out fake news asfalse speech to understand thework arrangements and businesscontracts behind disinformationproduction


Tech companies have adopted more stringent

measures to moderate ldquofake newsrdquo and other

harmful content in mitigating the COVID-19

ldquoinfodemicrdquo and those attempting to undermine

the US electoral process We will need to monitor

the local adoption and translation of platforms

procedures in flagging falsehoods of elected officials

robust monitoring of disinformation that undermines

electoral process disabling hashtags during elections

and extensive content moderation of COVID-19 medical

claims Towhat extent shouldwe lobby tech companies

to apply similar standards for monitoring and de-

platforming local disinformation including those

expressed in local languages and visual cultures

A Joe Biden presidency is expected to take a harder

line with tech companies than his predecessors

possibly setting a new direction in the ldquofight

against fake newsrdquo in the global context It

remains to be seen how his administrations

approach might offer an alternative framework to social

media regulation in contrast to the widely overreaching

regulatory measures adopted by world governments in

recent monthsmdashmany used by autocrats to silence

dissenters How might the Philippine government

adjust itsAnti-TerrorBill andCOVID-19anti-fakenews

provisions in light of diverse and competing global

standards that will emerge over the next years

Over the past four years we have observed how the

Philippines disinformation production economy

h a s moved from the shadows to the corporate

boardroom Some top-level strategists have

happily taken credit for campaigns in their desire to

seek new clients while others work in open-secret

without fear of regulation or oversight How can

journalists activists and academics apply corporate

pressure and seek new standards for fairness and

accountability in local industries of advertising public

relations influencer marketing and political

consultancy

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it its own

ldquoinfodemicrdquo of vaccine conspiracy and miracle

cures It also unleashed a secondary contagion o f

racism where people of Chinese descent and their

culture were blamed for the virus Anti-China racist

speech and conspiracy theory similarly proliferated in

Philippinesrsquo social media Journalists and fact-checkers

failed to call out their own colleagues for amplifying hate

speech and were guilty of publishing already-debunked

conspiracy theory in the local press How can Filipino

journalists rise up to the challenge of addressing

disinformation and its porous boundaries with hate

speech How can anti-racism training help sensitize

local journalists and academics to acknowledge local

racial hierarchies and de-escalate violence and hate

Activists journalists and academics have worked

tirelessly in the ldquofight against fake newsrdquo

launching diverse initiatives from media literacy

caravans to listening projects to ethnographies of

paid trolls to lobbying tech firms at the global level

How can we support each other better as vocal

dissidents are punished by government women (most

especially) get trolled and harassed frontline workers

reachburnout and conditions of our labor and research

become ever precarious and riskier

Philippinesrsquo disinformation space in regional context

Earlier this year my colleague Ross Tapsell and I released areport (see Ong amp Tapsell 2020) outlining lessons fromrecent electoral experiences in three Southeast Asiancountries We discussed how Southeast Asia serves as acautionary tale for other countrieswhen fears of fake newsare hijacked by state leaders to expand their surveillance ofdigital environments and to chill free speech

In the pandemic moment fears of fake news and fears ofthe virus have converged and at least 16 worldgovernments from Romania to Botswana have emulatedexamples of ldquooverreachingrdquo social media laws and scaretactics first seen in Singapore and Malaysia (Lim 2020) Inthe Philippines a controversial Anti-Terror Bill was passedby the Duterte government to appease the military and itsvaguely defined social media content monitoring

Whats in store for thePhilippines in 2021 and beyond

1

2

3

4

5

disinformation and hate speech that have escalated in thewake of COVID-19)

This chapter outlines key challenges in the countrys fightagainst disinformation in the current political moment It

then reviews regional trends that would situate thePhilippinesrsquo experience in comparative context It endswithinsights on regulation based on recent United States (US)elections and anticipating the Philippinesrsquo upcomingpresidential elections in 2022

speech were political strategies of various politicalinfluencers andmeme accounts and we should be quick tocall these out in the months ahead

In the next sections I summarize key insights fromprevious research ondisinformation that should guideany regulation and interventionwe should develop

1 Many disinformation producersare financially motivated withlittle ideological investment

In the US diverse segmentsamong the far-right have realideological investment behind thexenophobic andor misogynisticonline speech that aligns with

their political agenda The Philippines however has longbeen described as one with ldquostrong personalitiesweakpartiesrdquo where politicians and their parties are rarelydifferentiated for their ideological positions Politiciansalong with their funders and strategists have beenpreviously described as ldquobutterfliesrdquo flitting from onealliance to another This feature of the local political systemshould impel us to focus on fixing structures and addresswhat might be purely entrepreneurial motivations of thedisinformation producers to develop strategy forpoliticians

In the last Philippine elections ldquoblack campaigningrdquoemerged from the shadows into the boardrooms ofadvertising and public relations firms (Silverman et al2020) selling their services to the highest bidder From ourethnographic research with campaigners influencers and

fake account operatorsin the Philippines wediscovered thatnobody really works asa full-time troll (Ong ampCabanes 2018) mostof whom maintainedldquorespectablerdquo day jobsin corporate marketingfor shampoo and softdrink brands As t r a t e g i cc o mm u n i c a t i o n s

scholar Lee Edwards (2020) is correct to say thatldquodisinformation is in the DNA of public relationsrdquo

These insights are oftenmissed by narratives that spotlightdisinformation as technological feature of social media orthe innovation of Duterte and his digital advisersResearchers have the responsibility here to shade in thelayers of accountability and complicity within local politicalregimes and help journalists find more effective tools thanldquounmaskingrdquo the person behind one Twitter account

provisions further deepen cultures of self-censorship andsurveillance against the backdrop of a violent drug war

In the region Thailands political culture of ldquodeeppolarizationrdquo offers a dangerous example of what couldhappen when thepolarized politicsbetween Dutertesp o p u l i s tsupporters versusmore liberalldquodilawanrdquo (yellows)becomes furtherentrenched InThailand electoralcampaign laws andsocial media lawshave beenweaponized tosuch an extreme that opposition politicians are routinelydisqualified and harassed and the application of campaignlaws is arbitrary (Ong amp Tapsell 2020) Social media havealso been polarized to an extent that ordinary peopleschoice of platforms is expressive of their politicalalignment making attempts at ldquoreaching across the aislerdquoimpossible The Philippines must learn from the Thaiexperience the urgent need to address the issue of politicalpolarization and find ways to develop check-and-balancemechanisms including for electoral campaign and socialmedia regulation

Neighboring Indonesia also has lessons for the Philippinesparticularlywith racial tensions and violence erupting fromthe mix of disinformation and hate speech Similar to thePhilippines anti-China sentiment has surged in Indonesiain the wake of fears of COVID-19 and fears of Chinesepeople as ldquovirus carriersrdquoUnlike in the PhilippinesIndonesia has a more recenthistory of racial violenceagainst Chinese immigrantsin their country Over thepast years a mix ofconspiracy theoryinsinuating PresidentWidodo being a Chinese spyChinese workers beingforeign agents election-related black campaigningand COVID-19 related conspiracies about Chinesebiological weaponry has led to eruptions of physicalviolence doxing and shaming in social media (Chew andBarahamin 2019) The Philippines saw many incidents ofphysical altercations parody and memes racial slurs ofldquochingchongrdquo and service refusals to mainland Chinesepeople unleashed by COVID-19 (Ong amp Lasco 2020) Weshould prepare for scenarios where digital disinformationand hate speech converge and harmmulticultural relationsin the country As two of us had previously documented inthe 2019 elections anti-China disinformation and hate

We need to harness the arrayof tools of taxation and auditingindustry self-regulatory councils

and media monitoring tounderstand disinformation as an

industry


Southeast Asia serves as acautionary tale for other countries

when fears of fake news arehijacked by state leaders to

expand their surveillance of digitalenvironments and to chill free

speech

We need to harness the array of tools of taxation andauditing industry self-regulatory councils and mediamonitoring to understand disinformation as an industry

Weneed to also domore investigation of how related fieldsof practice such as search engine optimization hackersdata analytics companies meme page operators anddigital influencer agencies are responsible andorcomplicit

It is important that academicshelp put pressure on industryleaders and regulators asjournalists may themselves bereluctant to antagonize thosewho control the corporateadvertising money that theirnews agencies depend on

2We need to develop norms and regulatory frameworks onpolitical marketing

We need to shine a light on the ways in whichcontemporary campaigns are funded managed andexecuted This requires shifting regulatory impulses frombanning or censoring to openness through transparencyand accountability mechanisms

The first step to take is to continue a public conversationabout the scale of the issue and how deep these incentivesgo within local industries

This discussion should be less about shaming personalitiesand more about understanding the vulnerabilities of thebroader system of political campaigning

Advertising and public relations (PR) industry leaders needto engage with thelimitations of their self-regulatory boards wherepractitioners take onpolitical consultancies asldquoopen industry secretsrdquoand digital influencers arenot penalized for failing todisclose paidcollaborations At thesame time the advertisingand PR industry hasexisting frameworks forreviewing advertisingmaterials for corporatebrands that set some precedents forwhat a self-regulatoryreview boardmight look like for political ads

The second step is to review possibilities for a broaderlegal framework that might encourage transparency andaccountability Unlike certain countries in North Americaand Western Europe political consultants in thePhilippines (and countries like India) are not governed by

legal provisions Inthis light a legal framework for a Political CampaignTransparency Act might provide opportunities to createbetter checks-and-balances in political consultancy workarrangements campaign finance disclosures andcampaign donations of ldquooutsourcedrdquo digital strategyPerhaps there is an opportunity to identify moreconcretely the donors political consultants and paid

influencers supportingpoliticians

The third step is to review theCommission on Electionsrsquo(COMELEC) existingframeworks for campaignfinance and social mediaregulation COMELECrsquosattempt to create transparency

and accountability in social media campaigning in 2019which one of us helped advise on is a step in the rightdirection For the 2019 midterm election COMELECintroduced new guidelines that increased the reportorialresponsibilities of politicians to include social mediaspending in their Statement of Contributions andExpenditures (SOCE) However the current frameworkalso has several vulnerabilities particularly in its extensivefocus on the reporting andmonitoring of politiciansrsquo officialsocial media accounts and requirement of attachingreceipts of transactions As our previous research hasshown digital campaigns involve both official andunderground operations (Ong et al 2019) Facebook adsinfluencer collaborations and many political consultanciesdo not have formal documentation and fail therequirement This loophole enables politicians to skirtresponsibility to report on informal work arrangementsWe encourage COMELEC to provide more detailedguidelines to politicians and revise SOCE forms to include

the variety of digitalcampaign executionsincluding the mobilizationof paid influencers themaintenance ofsupplemental accountsand their principles inm i c r o - t a r g e t e dadvertising The currentframework also needs tobe amended to obligepoliticians to sign off onsocial media content justas they are obliged toapprove television radio

and print advertising contents

Finally we encourage COMELEC to form intersectoralalliances with the academe civil society and creative andmedia industries in themonitoring of traditional and digitalcampaigns COMELECsmonitors of SOCE are short-termcontract-based workers with little job security or politicalclout Civil society should find ways to help COMELEC

It is undoubtedly importantthat we should keep applying

pressure to platforms to improvetheir content moderation of hatespeech and enhance the support

for the many precariouslyemployed content moderators in

the region


The first step to take is tocontinue a public conversationabout the scale of the issue andhow deep these incentives go

within local industries

It also takes focus away from the hard work of developingspecific and granular language around regulation Shouldplatforms apply similar standards for content takedownsor platform bans or should these be contextual dependingon country context or speaker To what extent shouldparody be allowed on platforms and who determines thisWhatmechanisms for content takedownand fact-checkingshouldwedevelop for live video streaming onYouTube andInstagram These are the challenging questions that slip

discussions when simplisticbinaries of good-versus-evil orpost-by-post takedownframeworks (Douek 2020) tosocial media contentmoderation are all-too-easilythrown

4We need to hold our allies accountable

We should be careful to ensure that this urgent fightagainst fake news does not turn us or our allies into thevery enemieswe vow to fight against One of the findings inour Southeast Asian elections study (Ong amp Tapsell 2020)is that disinformation became ldquodemocratizedrdquo and thatpoliticians and their supporters who previously decrieddisinformation campaigning adopted some of these sametactics to try to fight fire with fire (Tapsell 2019) Whilesome coordinative tactics are productively disruptive ofracist speechmdashfor example K-pop fansrsquo recent torpedoingof racist hashtags against the Black Lives Mattermovement (Evelyn 2020)mdashwe should be cautious thatsome other tactics might reproduce vicious cycles ofhateful confrontation We should refrain from adopting

and celebratingcoordinated behaviorswhen they are done byldquogood guysrdquo because thesesame tactics wouldeventually be used andcopied by the other sideAs Cherian George hasargued in the Singaporeancontext it is important tocall out ones own allies forbehaving like bullies(George 2020)

Researchers and policyexperts thus have an important yet challengingresponsibility to take a step back and challenge the good-versus-evil framing that only deepens the many ethnicracial religious and class divides in Southeast Asiancontexts

build greater capacity especially as their 2022 electionpreparations also have to contend with challenges of voterengagement in this pandemic moment

3 We need more transparency mechanisms in ourengagements with tech companies

Blaming Facebook is easier for everyone than seeking localreform Platform determinist narratives assign primaryblame to Facebook for the crasstenor of partisan debate andldquosurpriserdquo electoral outcomes(Ressa 2016) This is not at allhelpful in precisely identifyingvulnerabilities in a diverseecosystem with many playersand assigning precise levels of responsibility to the mainculprits Even in Thailand which is greatly affected bydisinformation in social media and censorship from thegovernment political opposition actors and activists have alonger view of ldquofake newsrdquo as rooted in propaganda frompartisan media pundits within a deeply polarized politicalsystem We should also be very cautious about blamingFacebook Free Basics for various processes of dumbingdown political conversation or swinging the electoraloutcomes as this denies ordinary people of any sense ofagency and rationality whichCurato has discussed in detailin Chapter 2

It is undoubtedly important that we should keep applyingpressure to platforms to improve their contentmoderationof hate speech and enhance the support for the manyprecariously employed content moderators in the region

It is also urgent that wedemand betterrepresentation of theregion in the FacebookOversight Board which isresponsible for reviewingcontent takedowndecisions As legalscholars argue it isdisproportional that onlyone Southeast Asianrepresentative is on the20-person board(Domino 2020) whenglobal surveys have identified that four of the top 10countries with the most active users in social media are inSoutheast Asia

However researchers activists and policy experts shouldresist adopting the language of securitization or platformdeterminism in their own lobbying strategies

Demonizing social media denies ordinary people of agency(and responsibility)

Local journalists activists andacademics need to develop a

more sustained research agendaaround hate speech and racism in

the Philippines attuned to thespecific racial hierarchies andpower dynamics in deep and

recent historical context


Demonizing social mediadenies ordinary people of agency

(and responsibility)

5 We need to examine intersections of disinformation andhate speechWe need to watch out for fake news that couldlead to escalations to racial violence as we have seen in ourn e i g h b o r i n gcountries

In the wake ofC OV I D - 1 9 a n t i - C h i n aracist speechand conspiracytheory surgedin globalcontext andthe Philippinesw a sunfortunatelyno exceptionRather than fact-checking their statements or calling thesepeople out some journalists reproduced this hatefulrhetoric in their own personal pages or republishedconspiracy theory in national newspapers such as thePhilippine Daily Inquirer (see Ong amp Lasco 2020)

This tactic has been an extension of an anti-Chinadisinformation narrative that we observed in the 2019elections As Curato Tapsell and I discussed (seeOng et al2019) opposition politicians in 2019 amplified an anti-China narrative to attract and mobilize supporters againstDuterte with his increasingly cozy ties with the Chinesegovernment At times online discourse slipped into racistexpressions against Chinese people posing threats tomulticultural social relations Whilethere are good reasons to raisealarm over the administrationrsquospolicy on China the worrisomeaspect of this narrative is that itcould lead to real-life violence justas we have seen anti-China hatecrimes rising in diverse nationalcontexts in the wake of COVID-19

Unfortunately some journalistshave only doubled-down on theirdecision not to fact-check thisdisinformation narrative with someclaiming that this is a ldquofalse equivalencerdquo or that ldquohatespeech is not disinformationrdquo (Nery 2020)

As we had discussed earlier with the Indonesian examplehate speech and disinformation have porous boundariesand can lead to armed vigilantism

Local journalists activists and academics need to developamore sustained research agenda around hate speech andracism in the Philippines attuned to the specific racialhierarchies and power dynamics in deep and recenthistorical context

Anti-racism trainings that shed light on historical andstructural roots of racial hierarchies in the Philippines andemerging standards around reporting on complex

multicultural issues would beimportant programs for journalistsand academics to collaborate on Thishelps in diffusing racial tensions aswe would not want the Philippines tofollow the examples of neighboringcountries such as Indonesia or evenHong Kong and Singapore whereanti-mainland Chinese racism hasbecome deeply entrenched (Ong ampLin 2017)

6 We need to create sustainableintersectoral and interdisciplinaryalliances where individuals

contribute diverse specialized knowledge to tackle differentdimensions of information pollution

We need collaborative alliances that can create effectivedivisions of labor inmonitoring our information ecosystem

We need to combine journalistsrsquo storytelling fact-checkersrsquo rigorous research deep ethnographic insightand big data researchersrsquo broad pattern analysis to combatdisinformation innovations to come

I have been a Research Fellow at the Harvard KennedySchools Technology and Social Change Project this year tohelp with their disinformation monitoring for the US

elections and Ifound itinspiring thattheir researchteam wasdiverse inexpertise andi n d e p e nd en twith theirf u n d i n gstructures Theteam was led byethnographerswhose primary

responsibility was to map out origin points ofdisinformation narratives identifying not only keyinfluencers behind popular memes but also the historicallineages behind certain kinds of conspiratorial thinkingThis meant that the approach was less about reporting ona falsehood but deep investigations of specific subculturesor ldquoscenesrdquo such as right-wing Asian supporters of Trumpgun owners anti-vaccine and anti-mask COVID-19conspiracists etc Former tech journalists are members ofthe team and help communicate their research withpolicymakers and themainstream press

After all there are far toomany people responsible andmuch more complicit in theexpansion of disinformation

economies to reduce the fightagainst fake news to simplisticgood-versus-evil narratives

We need to combine journalistsrsquostorytelling fact-checkersrsquo

rigorous research deepethnographic insight and big data

researchersrsquo broad patternanalysis to combat disinformation

innovations to come



Another difference in their approach was the focus on de-escalation While fact-checkers worked with highlightedharmful effects of certain kinds of disinformation ie fakeCOVID-19 cures the Harvard team cautioned journalistsabout inadvertently amplifying hateful speech orpopularizing certain influencers These helpful practicescould actually help counterbalance certain tendencies ofFilipino journalists to spotlight disinformation frominfluencers or strategists as press attention would actuallybring more political clients to these disinformationproducers (Ong ampCabanes 2019)

Conclusion

Moving forward we need better cooperation amongacademic researchers journalists and civil society activiststo tackle a multi-dimensional issue that cannot be solvedby technological solutionism (eg ldquoWe need betteralgorithmsrdquo) or platform determinism (ldquoFacebook ruineddemocracyrdquo)

After all there are far too many people responsible andmuch more complicit in the expansion of disinformationeconomies to reduce the fight against fake news tosimplistic good-versus-evil narratives

The challenge ahead is to have a more precise language ofresponsibility such that we can sufficiently assignculpability to the diversity of disinformation producerswho profit from political campaigns as well as ordinarypeople who believe in various disinformation narrativesThe word ldquotrollrdquo is not at all useful here as it muddles anydiscussion of responsibility and accountability

Wewill need sustainable infrastructures for deep researchand quick interventions that could shed light on new ldquofakenews innovationsrdquo de-escalate narratives that could lead toviolence and harm disincentivize non-transparent andnon-accountable ways of electoral campaigning penalizethe entrepreneurial influencers and strategists profitingfrom ldquoblack campaigningrdquo and understand the social andeconomic anxieties that are being stoked by insidiousmedia manipulators such that we could address them attheir roots


References

Chew A amp Barahamin A (2019May 23) Chinese Indonesians in Jakarta fear attacks on the community as anti-Chinahoaxes spread on social media South ChinaMorning Post httpswwwscmpcomweek-asiapoliticsarticle3011392chinese-indonesians-jakarta-fear-attacks-community-anti-china

Curato N (2016) Politics of anxiety politics of hope Penal populism andDutertersquos rise to power Journal of CurrentSoutheast Asian Affairs 35(3) 91-109 httpsdoiorg101177186810341603500305

Domino J (2020May 21)Why Facebookrsquos oversight board is not diverse enough Just Security httpswwwjustsecurityorg70301why-facebooks-oversight-board-is-not-diverse-enough

Douek E (2020) Governing online speech From lsquoposts-as-trumpsrsquo to proportionality and probability Columbia LawReview 121(1) httpsdxdoiorg102139ssrn3679607

Edwards L (2020) Organised lying and professional legitimacy public relationsrsquo accountability in the disinformationdebateEuropean Journal of Communication httpeprintslseacuk106161

Evelyn K (2020 June 21) Trump lsquoplayedrsquo by K-pop fans and TikTok users who disrupted Tulsa rally The Guardian httpswwwtheguardiancomus-news2020jun21trump-tulsa-rally-scheme-k-pop-fans-tiktok-users

George C (2020May 10) Online politics Time for a code of conduct Air-Conditioned Nation httpswwwairconditionednationcom20200510online-politicsfbclid=IwAR0Vmc97t_rpCH4bEGVauvxxAZFQ1fyDVUfnL9LYQzP7o3a0dXTyqsMvE4c

Lim G (2020March 25) SecuritizeCountersecuritize The life and death ofMalaysiarsquos anti-fake news act Data amp Societyhttpsdatasocietynetlibrarysecuritize-counter-securitize

Lindquist J (2019 January 12) Illicit economies of the internet Click farming in Indonesia and beyond Made in ChinaJournal httpsmadeinchinajournalcom20190112illicit-economies-of-the-internet-click-farming-in-indonesia-and-beyond

Nimmo B Eib S amp Ronzaud L (2020) Operation Naval Gazing Graphika httpsgraphikacomreportsoperation-naval-gazing

Notopoulos K (2020 February 14) Instagram influencer marketing is already a nightmare Political ads will make it ashitshow BuzzFeed News httpswwwbuzzfeednewscomarticlekatienotopoulosinstagram-influencer-marketing-is-already-a-nightmare

Ong JC Cabanes J (2018) Architects of networked disinformation Behind the scenes of troll accounts and fake newsproduction in the Philippines Newton Tech4dev Network httpnewtontechfordevcomwp-contentuploads201802ARCHITECTS-OF-NETWORKED-DISINFORMATION-FULL-REPORTpdf

Ong JC amp Cabanes JVC (2019) ldquoPolitics and Profit in the Fake News Factory FourWorkModels of Political Trolling inthe Philippinesrdquo NATO StratCom httpsstratcomcoeorgfour-work-models-political-trolling-philippines

Ong JC amp Lasco G (2020 February 4) The epidemic of racism in news coverage of the coronavirus and the publicresponse MediaLSE httpsblogslseacukmedialse20200204the-epidemic-of-racism-in-news-coverage-of-the-coronavirus-and-the-public-response

Ong JC amp Lin TZ (2017) ldquoPlague in the City Digital Media as Shaming Apparatus TowardMainland Chinese lsquoLocustsrsquo inHong Kongrdquo In G Aiello K Oakley ampM Tarantino (eds) Communication and the City New York Peter Lang

Ong JC amp Tapsell R (2020) Mitigating disinformation in Southeast Asian Elections Lessons from Indonesia Philippinesand Thailand NATO Strategic Communications httpswwwstratcomcoeorgmitigating-disinformation-southeast-asian-elections

Ong JC Tapsell R amp Curato N (2019) Tracking digital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine midterm election newmandala httpswwwnewmandalaorgwp-contentuploads201908Digital-Disinformation-2019-Midtermspdf


Ressa M (2016 October 3) Propaganda warWeaponizing the internet Rappler httpswwwrapplercomnationpropaganda-war-weaponizing-internet

Silverman C Lytvynenko J amp KungW (2020 January 6) Disinformation for hire How a new breed of PR firms is sellinglies online BuzzFeed News httpswwwbuzzfeednewscomarticlecraigsilvermandisinformation-for-hire-black-pr-firms

Tapsell R (2019) lsquoWhen they go low we go lowerrsquo Will fake news decide Indonesiarsquos election this week New York Timeshttpswwwnytimescom20190416opinionindonesia-election-fake-newshtml

Global discourse around socialmedia platforms has significantly

changed in 2020 The ldquotechlashrdquo hasreached a point where most

politicians lawyers journalistsacademics and ordinary people have

all come into understanding thatsocial media must be regulated in

some form or another Thisheightened media and technologicalreflexivity is evident in the opinion poll

summarized in Chapter 1 whererespondents generally expressedagreement that disinformation onsocial media should be regulated

94INFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

And nowwhatSTRATEGIC AND PROGRAMMATICRECOMMENDATIONS BY

Jonathan CorpusOngAssociate Professor

Department of CommunicationUMass AmherstResearch Fellow

Shorenstein CenterHarvard University

Nicole CuratoAssociate Professor

Centre for DeliberativeDemocracy and Global

GovernanceUniversity of Canberra

Yvonne T ChuaAssociate Professor

Department of JournalismUniversity of the Philippines

motives As Chapter 3 discussed the pandemic momenthas further underscored the dangers where so-calledcures for the ldquoinfodemicrdquo are worse than the disease aswhistleblowers frontline health workers and evenordinary people have become targets of anti-fake-newsmeasures around the world while the real amplifiers ofconspiracy theory and hate speech have evadedpunishment

Moving forward we need bold thoughtful creative andsustainable proposals from civil society that could engageelected officials platforms and thewider public to addressfast-moving disinformation innovations as well asinfrastructural failures of our information environmentWe need to fund sustainable multi-stakeholder interfaceswhere scholars and civil society can lend their ownexpertise and address specific aspects of a complex andmulti-layered issue while engaging and learning from theexperiences of the wider public

Based on these premises we put forward the followingrecommendations

Invest in sustainable and dynamicmulti-stakeholder interfaces

Disinformation is not a glitch that could becorrected by technological solutions nor by more robustpolicing of the ldquobad actorsrdquo inhabiting platformsDisinformation is produced out of diverse commercialtechnological and social incentives and thuswould requiremulti-pronged approaches

We need to leverage on the skillsets of scholars and civilsociety actors of diverse backgrounds to contributespecialized knowledge that could sufficiently attend toboth most pressing immediate harms of disinformationand hate speech as well as the deeper underlying factorsbehind specific features of technologized behaviors

Scholars and civil society actors need to work togetherconsistently engage platforms and elected officials andbuild lobbying power This requires skills of cultural and

Global discourse around social media platforms hassignificantly changed in 2020 The ldquotechlashrdquo has reached apoint where most politicians lawyers journalistsacademics and ordinary people have all come intounderstanding that socialmediamust be regulated in someform or another This heightened media and technologicalreflexivity is evident in the opinion poll summarized inChapter 1 where respondents generally expressedagreement that disinformation on social media should beregulated

As Chapters 2 and 3 have illustrated however politicalscientists legal experts and media and communicationsscholars have all raised caution that regulation must tow afine line such that it does not encroach on free speech anda free press There is also the danger that the discourse ofrdquofake newsrdquo would only marshal moral panics andscapegoat tech platforms for being responsible for todayssocial ills This disingenuous move would distract frommore complex projects of facilitating social inclusionmitigating inequalities and reimagining informationinfrastructures for public good rather than their for-profit

1


technical translation so the Philippines historical andsocial issues could better inform not only specific contentmoderation decisions but also more crucially informhigher-level global debates about frameworks for politicaladvertising influencer marketing hate speech definitionsand norms platform policies about regulating speech ofelected officials and data privacy regulation

There is a need here for sustainable fundinginfrastructures that guarantee the independence ofresearch from specific political agenda There is difficulty insecuring research funds on non-United States (US)UnitedKingdom (UK) research on disinformation that are not tiedto foreign policy or security initiatives (eg the focus ondisinformation as purely a Russian or Chinese enterprise)Civil society and academia should lobby funders to fundinterdisciplinary and multi-perspectival research withpublic engagement components that facilitate two-wayconversations andmutual learning

Improve researcher-journalist-fact-checker interfaces

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemichas highlighted the value of fact-checking as one of thequickest responses against disinformation TheOrganisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) urges support for diverse andindependent fact-checking organizations within nationalsocieties while the Broadband Commission forSustainable Development of the United NationsEducational Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and the International Communication Unionrecommend the development of collaborative fact-checking operations worldwide to monitor among otherspolitical content and political advertising We add thatfact-checking operations should find more sustainable andcreative ways of reporting on disinformation not assingular discrete falsehoods but as narratives that emergefrom particular subcultures or ldquoscenesrdquo They also shouldattend to disinformationrsquos porous boundaries with hatespeech political advertising and organic rumor

For this we will need to establish dynamic interfaces thatbridge journalists and fact-checkers with academicsspecialized in ethnography as well as big data analysis Inthe US the model developed by research institutions suchas at Harvards Shorenstein Center is to developcollaborative disinformation monitoring initiatives thatguide journalists reporting of ldquofake newsrdquo and trace theniche subcultures that originate certain kinds ofconspiracy theory or racist propaganda Within Harvardjournalists and technology writers are embedded in theresearch team as full-time staff or research fellows tosupport public engagement and translation of academicwriting In the lead-up to the elections the team hostedopen Zoom calls communicating their latest research withjournalists who in turn shared their stories for the weekand workshopped ideas for future investigations Thesedynamic interfaces were particularly crucial to the

strategic reporting on armed militias organizing on socialmedia against racial justice protesters aimed for de-escalation rather than sensationalism In the Philippinesjournalists and academics can work better toward findingways to mitigate the spread of extremist speech and de-escalate potential harm and violence

Previously two of us had proposed recommendations ofreporting disinformation as narratives where instead offact-checking a falsehood as a news event reporters canshed light on the process of insidious media manipulationsthat have occurred over time as well as the political andcommercial incentives that impelled strategists orinfluencers to spread such falsehoods The case of place-based closed groups and private chat groups was raised inthe previous chapter as one vulnerability fordisinformation especially in ldquonews desertsrdquo where they arethe only sources of information This is where deepethnographic insight of academics can supplement thefact-checkersrsquo and big data analystsrsquo focus on trendingitems and popular hashtag communities They couldidentify emerging communities that originate and providefertile ground for certain kinds of conspiracy theory andexplore their accidental collisions with politicallyinterestedmedia manipulators

Additionally reporting on disinformation as narrativeshelpswith complex issues around the proliferation of racistspeech along with their intersections with conspiracytheory and ldquofake newsrdquo as discussed in Chapter 3Certainly it would be ethical and responsible to makeavailable anti-racist training for reporters and academics inthe disinformation space Racism and racist speech withinAsian countries are highly particular and contextualimportant issues to acknowledge

Improve election-oriented civilsociety initiatives

While one of us has cultivated relationships withelection-oriented legal group and helped inform socialmedia campaign regulations for the previous elections wefound no evidence that such regulations were enforcedand led to any political outcome

As the Philippines prepares for an important presidentialelection in 2022 we need to form intersectoral alliancesbetween academics election lawyers journalists and civilsociety to promote transparency and accountabilityframeworks for campaign financing It is clear that theCommission on Elections (COMELEC) does not have theinfrastructure nor the expertise to monitor politiciansrsquocampaign spending

Civil society can play a major role in monitoring andcurtailing electoral disinformation through votereducation and lobbying COMELEC to include anti-disinformation provisions in its resolutions holding notjust the media but more important candidates and theirsupporters alike accountable Lobbying legislators to

2

3


update the Fair Elections Act or propose a PoliticalCampaign Transparency Act as one of us has previouslyproposed is another initiative to develop new frameworksthat respond to features of targeted political advertisingand influencer marketing that are unregulated

Two of us had also reported previously that we hadobserved foreign interference in elections in the businesstransactions that occur between political consultants andforeign entrepreneurs invested in electoral outcomes thatwould gain them favor We need to establish moreframeworks that would introduce disincentives to shadybehaviors and campaign practices Civil society can explorehow we could make better use of taxation frameworkssuch as in proposals to tax targeted advertising and usethat collected tax to promote public literacy portals

4 Improve private sectorengagement

It has been far too long an open secret thatcreative industries of advertising and public relations haveengaged in both above-ground and dirty campaigning forpoliticians Previous engagements of scholars withindustry experts have met much resistance and outrightdisavowal of responsibility for disinformation campaignsyet the industry shows that reflexivity and self-criticismcome from younger creative professionals We need tobuild better inroads with the private sector and cultivatechampions who can advocate for industry reform and

better self-regulation systems and practices

5 Experiment with citizensrsquo jury

One could consider building on theldquodeliberative waverdquo taking place around the

world and experiment on democratic innovations invitinga randomly selected group of ordinary citizensmdasha citizensjury in policy parlancemdashto assess cases of disinformationor hate speechonline andprovide recommendations basedon their deliberations

The value of a deliberative body has now been affirmed byplatforms like Facebook which recently convened anoversight board that had been tasked to adjudicate casesregarding raised issues of free speech This board iscomposed of expertsmdasha Nobel Prize winner a formerprimeminister journalists legal scholars and human rightsadvocates The idea of citizensrsquo juries is similar to thisoversight board (the oversight board is indeed describedas the Supreme Court of Facebook) except that itscomposition is not limited to experts but members of thewider public

One could imagine running a citizensrsquo jury composed oftwenty-four citizens from diverse backgroundsrepresenting different ages gender religion ethno-linguistic background political views and educationalattainment The ideas and values they bring indeliberations are based not on their fields of expertise but

from their experience as lay citizens who encounterdisinformation on a daily basis Just like juries in courtcitizensrsquo juries will have access to expert witnesses andadvocates whose evidence and testimonies should beconsidered in their deliberations That way citizens alsohave the opportunity to improve their knowledge on thecase at hand and correct their biases The outcomes of thisprocess will be recommendations onwhat to dowith casesof disinformation

Why is this experiment worth pursuing There are severalreasons First as an academic exercise a citizensrsquo jurycould lend insight into the moral calculations of ordinarypeople when faced with disinformation dilemmas Datafrom citizensrsquo juries are different from polling or focusgroup data Polling and focus groups convey what peoplethink in an imperfect public sphere defined by click-baitheadlines sensationalist reporting and indeeddisinformation Meanwhile data from citizensrsquo juriesrepresentwhat people think about the issuewhen they aregiven the opportunity to learn more about the topic anddeliberate on its complexities In other words citizensrsquojuries provide a counterfactual scenario of how peopleappraise disinformation when they are placed in learningenvironments conducive for reflection It promptsquestions on how we can design our public sphere to belike this more often

Second as a practical exercise citizensrsquo juries have a trackrecord of providing recommendations that can informdecisionmakers whether these are policymakersregulators or even Facebook itself It is not an accidentthat these deliberative processes are popular in the field ofhealth and medicine Debates about the ethics ofbiobanking mitochondrial donation and genome editingare controversial and emotional topics which cannot beleft to the hands of experts The issues related todisinformation bear similarities to biomedical issues(indeed biomedical issues can also be subject todisinformation) They too are emotional complex andhyper-partisan A citizensrsquo jury can serve as a circuitbreaker for citizens to pause and deliberate about theseissues with their peers in a respectful and other-regardingmanner The recommendations of citizensrsquo juries are oftenutilized by policymakers as inputs to their decision Theycarryweight because the recommendations represent notcitizensrsquo views as in polling data but citizensrsquo consideredjudgment

Finally citizensrsquo juries are opportunities for citizens tolearn These processes can be implemented in schools anduniversities as part of a media literacy program where thepedagogical focus is on active participation and democraticthinking It can be implemented by platforms themselvesfor example to supplement the oversight boardAlternatively it can be implemented by civil societyorganizations in collaboration with regulators as part oftheir campaign against disinformation This way citizenscan learn how to judge disinformation throughconversation and collective learning

4

5


Cultivate ethnographic andlistening projects

Effective disinformation practices are attunedto the anxieties and often unspeakableworries of everydaycitizens The interactive character of disinformationthrough YouTube and Facebook livestreams makes thesepractices even more effective as mutual listening andamplification of views unfold among like-mindedcommunities Addressing disinformation requires carefullistening in these channels spotting the disinformationnarratives that they co-construct and identifying theemotions that emerge from these channels Insight fromthese projects can help shift our diagnosis fromdemonizing the perpetrators of disinformation tounderstanding the visceral and unspeakable gains peopleget from these collective experiences

In practical terms ethnographic and listening projects cantake off with research and investigative reporting grants ortraining programs for journalists and researchers touncover the deep stories of disinformation Reportingdeep stories requires a distinct skillset both a science viabig data and an art via affective attunement or emotionalsensing of what others feel in different platforms Indeeddeveloping this skill is critical for a contextualized andmeaningful reporting of disinformation

7 Engage social media companies andinclude them in multi-sectoralcollaborations

As previously discussed in Chapter 3 platformdeterminism ignores the agency of ordinary people It alsoignores the diversity and agency of workers within socialmedia companies and their capacities for lobbyingcollaboration and even resistance As the ldquotechlashrdquo of thepast years has proven social media platforms facepressure within the organization from their own workerswho challenge exploitative or business-as-usual practicesincluding when they relate to political processes

Academics and civil society should engage the diversity ofplatform workers from their public policy officers to theirengineers and cybersecurity experts at global regionaland national levels Our past experience of engaging withsome platform workers is that a combination of publicpressure through mainstream media and backchannelcommunication (providing them with tips and askingquestions) shape decision-making around contentmoderation platform banning or even flagging of racistslurs

We also need to expand our focus fromengaging Facebookto also putting pressure on GoogleYouTube As our 2019elections study has shown (Ong et al 2019) YouTube wasa cesspool of profitable conspiracy theory channels yetthey had barely attended any multi-stakeholder meetingswith election commissioners Twitter representativesattended multi-stakeholder meetings but only to observe

and did not give their opinion Across regional contextplatforms public policy representatives are variablyengaged with local civil society It is imperative thereforethat we find ways to cultivate spaces that allow forfeedback loops We should also pressure platforms tothemselves support academic research and publicinterventions as academics and journalists produce workthat ultimately improves their platformbut are rarely givenjust compensation for their time labor and years oftraining in their fields of practice

Invest in independent criticalmedia

Public expectations of the media have risenamid growing concern over the spread of disinformationand an increasingly intolerant environment for freeexpression Newsrooms have to take proactive steps torespond to the demand for verified information and firmlyestablish themselves as champions of truth to regain thepublicrsquos trust in the media

Capacity building to ground media practitioners in thefundamentals of good journalism remains a given There isurgency however in investing in advanced verificationtechniques and equally as important disinformationinvestigations to unmask networks of malicious actors

Integrating fact-checking skills to everyday reportingincluding those conducted live or in real-time is essentialBut there is a need to move past the fixation with theldquogotchardquo mentality Attention should be trained oncontextualizing misinformation and filling data voids withhigh-quality content to stop information manipulators intheir tracks especially during elections and crisesNewsrooms also find themselves in a good position toequip audiences with verification skills through theircontent and platform

Attacks from various fronts in recent years haveencouraged a growing number of Filipino journalists toband together and hold the line But what is noticeablylacking is a mechanism that would consistently enforceprofessional and ethical standards across all mediaplatforms to assure the public that the industry could verywell police its own ranks For far too long self-regulatorybodies in the media have operated as silosmdashthis must endOther countries have benefited from the establishment ofindependent industry-wide press councils andintersectoral Codes of Ethics boards In the context ofdisinformation the presence of such a mechanism willfacilitate the formulation of industry-wide policies such ashow to deal with public officials and politicians whodisseminate disinformation in livereal-time coverage

An internal audit of themediawill gowell with self and peerregulation especially for newsrooms to gain the publicrsquostrust Templates are available such as the Trust Projectwhich employs eight trust indicators to assess if newsorganizations are worthy of a trust mark which in turn

7

8

6


allows the public to easily identify trustworthy news andnewsrooms

Civil society academia and the public also ought to keepnewsrooms on their toes Regular external audits can be amechanism to watch the watchdog Again there is nodearth of replicable initiatives

However it may be too much to expect newsrooms at thistime to self-finance an all-encompassing self-improvementpackage For one economic losses resulting from thepandemic have further crippled operations and led tomassive job cuts External support is plainly needed to helpsustain a robust independent media in the Philippines

infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg

facebookcominternews

internews

Press EnquiriespressinternewsorgDisclaimer The content of this report does not necessarily reflect the views of Internews or any of its funders

OFFICE AND COMMUNITY DATA AND COMMUNITY

DATA AND COMMUNITY

Trends and habits positively relate to educationspecialized knowledge accuracy multicultural issues deep storiesbias and fairness sentimental black campaigning transparency

Online vs Offline access followers obtain information reliabilityjournalists and academics talking points diverse specialized

Disinformation toxic actors foreigninfluence hackers targeting humanrights defenders to Facebook TwitterTikTok WeChat brutal attacks on

democracy to resist freedom ofinformation war and peace futurepresidential campaign politicalpropaganda Southeast Asia data

Democracy to resist freedom ofinformation war and peace futurepresidential campaign politicalpropaganda Southeast Asia data

VIOLENCE AGAINSTJOUNALISTS CITIZENSASSEMBLY BLOW TO PRESSFREEDOM

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019COMMUNITY

NARRATIVE VARIEDSNAPSHOTS JOURNALISMAND ITS PUBLICS COVID-19SOCIAL LISTENING

LIVE DEVELOPING STORY

DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

iiINFORMATION DYSTOPIA AND PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY

Internews empowers people worldwide with the trustworthy high-quality news and information they need to make informed decisions participate in their

communities and hold power to account

We seek to realize the potential of a digitally connected world a world in which evidence-based information advances human progress enables broad

opportunity and accountability and fuels vibrant civic debate

For nearly 40 years in more than 100 countries Internews has worked to build healthy media and information environments where they are most neededWe

have proudly incubated hundreds of sustainable organizations bolstered the skills of thousands of media professionals activists and citizens and helped these

partners reachmillions of people with quality local information

Internews is an international non-profit organization with administrative centers in California Washington DC London and Paris as well as regional hubs in

Bangkok Kiev andNairobi Formed in 1982 Internews hasworked inmore than 100 countries and currently has offices in Africa Asia Europe theMiddle East

Latin America and North America Internews is registered as a 501(c)3 organization in California EIN 94-3027961 in England and Wales as a Charity no

1148404 and Company no 7891107 and in France as Non-Profit Association SIRET no 425 132 347 000 13

E-mail infointernewsorg

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Twitter twittercominternews

Facebook facebookcominternews

Copyright copy 2021


Foreword v



8

Introduction 8








Conclusion 72

References 73


76

Introduction 76




Conclusion 82

References 83


85

Introduction 85




87


88


89



90



Conclusion 91

References 92



Acknowledgments














Foreword














Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample





April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents








cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS


Foreword v



8

Introduction 8








Conclusion 72

References 73


76

Introduction 76




Conclusion 82

References 83


85

Introduction 85




87


88


89



90



Conclusion 91

References 92



Acknowledgments














Foreword














Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample





April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents








cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS


Acknowledgments














Foreword














Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample





April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents








cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS


Foreword














Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample





April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents








cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS


Survey methodology

Survey period

Sample





April 9 2020 toMay 25 2020

19621 respondents








cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS







cyber libel


Introduction







CHAPTER I












RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS










RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS


RegionNo of

Respondents


450

Ilocos Region 507

Cagayan Valley 1008

Central Luzon 2550


2685

CALABARZON 3191

MIMAROPA 289

Bicol Region 1841

Western Visayas 706


Eastern Visayas 419

CARAGA 781



SOCCSKSARGEN 352

Davao 884


1438

Total 19621

Calabarzon16

CentralLuzon13

Bicol9

CentralVisayas

7

BARMM7

NCR14

CagayanValley

5

Davao5

IlocosRegion

3

NorthernMindanao

3

WesternVisayas

4

CARAGA4

CAR2

EasternVisayas

2

ZamboangaPeninsula

2

SOCCSKSARGEN2

MIMAROPA1




Gender

Male

Female

57

43

Language

English

Filipino

73

26

2 Cebuano

Age Group

18-24years old

25-34years old

35-44years old

14-17years old

3729

13


2 65 and over

12

2 Tablet


03 NoneDevices

Smartphones

Desktop30

6728

12

32

11 7

10

Education


Primaryschool

Secondaryschool

Vocationaltraining

Universitydegree


LessthanP8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

16

20

50

7

2 P80001 - 120000

1 P120001 - 1600003 More than P160000

Income






















1 Media consumption




























45-54 years old

25-34 years old






Education

Region


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


3229

54

51

67

63

31

25

25

19

16

29

13

8

11

8

11

13

15

9

8

4

6

15

11

4

4

3

5

11





BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

NCR

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000



TV


Newspaper Radio



45-54 years old

25-34 years old


4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


9

10

3

4

3

7

33

35

42

43

40

35

8

6

4

4

3

4

23

22

24

23

21

31

18

20

23

23

21

19

9

7

4

3

2

3

Income


43 34

38

2 7

4

10 1

3

30 37

31

13 17

22

4 4

2

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion

CagayanValley

EasternVisayas

CALABARZON

IlocosRegion


CARAGA


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

NorthernMindanao

TV


Newspaper Radio

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR

42 35

4 4

3 5

25 33

22 20

3 4





All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


34

35

51

43

43

33

47

43

39

47

52

54

19

22

10

11

5

12


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion




Income

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR





All

Age Group


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



34

40

1610


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

34

44

40

48

35

36

20

28

32

38

46

17

28

21

18

11

10

28

17

7

10

3

9

Income



P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000

BARMM CAR

NCR


21Whomatters























2 Not the media





















Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


63

64

71

69

79

69

37

36

29

31

21

31

Income


Online Offline

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

Less than P8000 P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM

CAR

NCR



All


Its cheap free



Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

21

29

26

29

31

13

13

7

9

5

7

16

17

25

27

37

33

16

15

8

8

4

5

18

19

19

19

15

13

14

15

11

12

9

10

Income


Its cheap free



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR






















contradictory





reliable























a better light

















35 Gaining trust




























speak up nowadays







All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

17

12

14

10

11

25

28

51

45

58

55

14

13

12

13

14

12

13

15

6

6

3

5

13

10

5

7

4

6

17

16

13

16

11

12

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas




BARMM CAR

NCR




Local media



All

Age Group


20

21

15

28

16


20 20

22 21

15

26 29

16 16


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



16

25

18

22

23

21

32

19

21

20

18

16

14

21

16

14

14

15

28

18

28

28

29

28

11

17

18

15

15

20

Income


Local media



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR




All

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


25

39

28

26

19

17

66

48

55

52

55

56

8

13

17

22

26

27

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas

44 49

21 21

36

52 42 55 31 50

37 33 23 44 32

11 26 22 25 17

48

17

35

61 56 54 59 58 61

18 22 20 15 23 15

21 23 26 26 19 24

BARMM CAR

NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


24

27

33

36

27

23

25

28

40

39

55

55

26

23

14

12

10

13

24

22

12

13

8

9

Income

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR







All

Age Group

31

21

10

13

25



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



14

20

25

24

29

27

37

24

28

29

32

35

17

25

25

24

20

16

8

13

11

10

10

7

25

18

12

14

9

14

Income


Strongly agree



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon


NCR


























4 Disinformation
























































All51

46

37

34

33

18

17

15



Male Female


20

0

40

60

18-2414-17

25-3435-44

45-5455-64

65 and over

Age Group


Untrue information

Biased information





Less than primary

school

Primary school

Secondary

school

Vocational training

University degree


Education


20

0

40

60



20

0

40

60

Less than

P8000

P8000 - 15000

P15001 - 30000

P30001 - 80000

P80001 - 120000

P120001 - 160000

More than P 160000

Income





20

0

40

60

80

BARMM

Bicol Region

Cagayan Valley

CALABARZON

CARAGA

Central Luzon

Central Visayas

Davao Region

Eastern Visayas

Ilocos Region

MIMAROPA


SOCCSKSARGEN

Western Visayas

Zamboanga

Peninsula

CAR

Region







19

27

25

37

26

34

40

37

38

37

36

34

40

35

35

37

30

Untrueinformation

Biasedinformation



government


country


videos

None ofthe above






All

Age Group



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


21

30

32

28

27

26

60

50

53

54

60

59

19

20

15

18

13

15

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


CentralLuzon

CentralVisayas


BARMM CAR

NCR






All


6

5

9


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


22

30

35

34

37

33

39

29

44

41

49

47

14

22

12

13

9

9

26

19

9

11

5

11

Income



Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR






All

Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


19

30

35

33

37

36

38

24

28

31

38

39

21

32

32

29

23

17

22

14

5

6

2

8

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion



NCR




All






45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training



22

21

31

37

43

36

23

23

22

19

16

16

18

20

13

12

11

12

18

19

18

16

16

14

19

17

15

16

13

22

Income


EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000




BARMM CAR

NCR



Gender


Yes No Dont know

All

Age Group

Male vs Female


45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

23

7

7

3

4

69

55

78

78

90

84

13

22

15

16

7

12

Income


Yes No Dont know

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

BARMM

CAR

NCR






















5 COVID-19
















53 Going offline







54 Disinfodemic


























All





Age Group




Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


15

13

8

10

7

8

11

11

4

3

3

4

11

9

6

6

3

4

12

14

28

25

30

23

11

11

3

3

2

3

12

10

3

2

1

2

12

14

11

9

9

10

15

19

38

41

46

45

Income





EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

BARMM CAR

NCR




TV


Newspaper Radio

All

Age Group



40

76

29

4

15

41 40

7 7

6 6

28 29

14 16

5 3

43 36 41 44 40 40 39

7 7 5 7 4 8 14

7 5 5 5 5 9 3

24 30 26 29 33 29 26

15 18 18 13 13 11 13

5 4 4 3 4 1 4


Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


18

18

5

5

5

8

21

29

44

43

42

37

12

11

5

6

4

8

17

15

27

25

32

32

19

16

16

18

15

13

12

11

4

4

2

3

Income


TV


Newspaper Radio

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


LuzonCentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM CAR

NCR

Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 8000042

23 39 41

42 37 41

6

3 12 5

6 6 7

6

16 10 10

5 4 4

26

39 33 30

27 37 31

16

15 5 12

14 14 15

4

3 1 2

6 2 3

26

43 43 49 42 38 44 37 50

35 29 47 29 42 36 21 43

17

3 7 13 4 3 4 8 6

11 10 5 14 6 7 9 9

11

3 6 2 4 10 3 4 3

11 8 4 10 5 6 16 6

23

33 25 22 32 33 38 28 19

20 26 29 18 27 33 34 23

17

16 15 9 15 12 9 19 16

15 17 14 14 18 15 8 16

7

1 4 4 2 4 2 4 5

8 9 2 14 2 4 12 3




Online Offline

Age Group



45-54 years old

25-34 years old



Region

Education


Primary school

Secondary school

Vocational training

University degree


57

53

66

68

78

75

43

47

34

32

22

25

Income


Less than P8000

P80001 - 120000 P120001 - 160000 More than P160000

P8000 - 15000 P15001 - 30000 P30001 - 80000

Online Offline

DavaoRegion

BicolRegion


Luzon

CentralVisayas

EasternVisayas

IlocosRegion


MIMAROPA

ZamboangaPeninsula

NorthernMindanao

BARMM

CAR

NCR

Conclusion
















inevitable



details


References





































































Introduction






























































channel

































Conclusion










References
















































CHAPTER III



Introduction









































consultancy






























1

2

3

4

5


















industry





speech




















the region












































innovations to come




Conclusion






References















































1














2

3
















4

5
















7

8

6





infointernewsorg

wwwinternewsorg


internews



DATA AND COMMUNITY










DEVELOPING STORY

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Date post:	06-May-2021
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