Media and Information Literacy in the Philippines Disinformation Web

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 23, 2024 | Business

This is the first part of the four-part series on Media and Information Literacy in the Disinformation Web. In this piece, it will discuss how the spread of fake news and misinformation is eroding trust in media and threatening democracy in the Philippines. Explore the impact of political propaganda, COVID-19 misinformation, and the fight for truth.

In the Philippines, the fine line between facts and fiction is increasingly blurred. Due to the proliferation of fake news, campaign propaganda, and state-sponsored trolling, Filipinos have difficulty fact-checking and assessing the content that they consume. Moreover, these contents tend to satisfy people’s biases and world view which is why they tend to accept the facts at face value even if they were factually erroneous to begin with.

This article will highlight different examples of how bad actors spread fake news. It will also highlight the dire consequences of the mass spreading of misinformation. Lastly, how can the community fight against them?

Case Study 1: Political Propaganda as Weaponization of Lies

Political propaganda is a potent tool in the Philippines. This is rampant during elections. During that season, false narratives and manipulated stories have become common on social media. Social media is the predominant source of campaign propaganda among Filipinos; after all, the Philippines is the social media capital of the world. This propaganda is exacerbated by state-sponsored trolling, which further amplifies these messages. This creates an echo chamber that stifles dissent.

For example, studies on the last 2022 presidential campaign have shown a surge in misleading information. Usually, the content of the campaign favors certain candidates while harming others. This is particularly detrimental to democracy because people ground their discretion on lies in order to vote for particular candidates. 

In this scenario, it harms the electorate the most because they are fed with lies in order to vote for certain candidates that have self-serving agendas. 

Case Study 2: Clickbait, PR and Coordinated Campaigns Contribute to the Fake News Epidemics

Aside from skewing public opinion, disinformation is handy in generating profits for businesses. Remember, attention is the new currency of the digital economy so enterprises come up with lots of strategies to attract people’s attention. For example, clickbait websites and PR firms contribute to the fake news epidemic. They churn out emotionally charged but misleading stories for profit. 

They do this through coordinated disinformation campaigns. The said campaigns flood social media with fabricated content that creates an illusion of widespread support for specific narratives. For example, they greenwash oil companies in order to blind-sight the public that they are environmentally responsible.

These tactics erode trust in media and foster as cloud of scepticism among institutions. If people are to rely on credible media sources, the media companies must hold themselves ethically responsible otherwise it will be a PR nightmare for them or a lawsuit waiting for telling fabricated stories.

Case Study 3: COVID-19 Misinformation That Worsened A Public Health Emergency

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a proven disaster due to misinformation. False claims about treatments and vaccines have led to dangerous health behaviors and vaccine hesitancy. These harmful narratives have prolonged the pandemic and put lives at risk.

Fighting Back: Media Literacy and Collective Action

To combat disinformation, it requires a multi-pronged approach. It requires the efforts of major key players.

•           Government agencies – pass laws that incentivize media companies to integrate responsible publications in their platforms such as fact-checking.

•           Independent fact-checkers and civil society organizations should educate the public and expose false narratives. 

•           Promotion of Media and information literacy education is essential so individuals can critically evaluate information. Understand that the reason bad actors exploit the consumers is due to a lack of MIL among users.

As a Media Consumer, What Can You Do?

•           Be Skeptical: Don’t believe everything you read online.

•           Check Sources: Verify information from reliable sources.

•           Support Fact-Checkers: Follow and share the work of reputable fact-checking organizations.

•           Demand Accountability: Hold media outlets and politicians accountable for spreading misinformation.

Balancing Regulation and Freedom of Speech

Everyone agrees that fighting disinformation is essential, but protecting freedom of speech is equally important. This is where things could get murky if we highly regulate speech in the name of fact-checking. 

The solution could be to find the right balance in regulations to ensure that legitimate discourse and criticism are not stifled. 

The Fight for Truth: A Shared Responsibility

The fight against disinformation is a shared responsibility. When people become more media literate and demand accountability, they can create a more informed and resilient society. The future of Philippine democracy may well depend on the ability of Filipinos to filter out the web of misinformation and uphold the truth.

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Enhancing Media and Information Literacy in the Philippines

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 22, 2024 | Business

This is the end of the four-part series of Media and Information Literacy Education in the Philippine Classrooms. As reiterated, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education in the Philippines is evolving. This article delves into extracurricular activities as an important key factor in playing a crucial role in shaping students’ ability to critically engage with media and information. From school clubs to community workshops, these initiatives are making a lasting impact on the media literacy of Filipino youth.

Boosting Media Smarts: Extracurricular Activities for Filipino Students

Media and information literacy goes beyond the four corners of the classroom. In the Philippines, it could get a boost from all sorts of activities outside school hours. These real-world experiences are helping students become proficient in media and information. As a result, they become skilled in thinking critically and consuming media responsibly.

Why Media Literacy Matters Beyond the Classroom

Classroom lessons lay the groundwork, but extracurricular activities are where students put those lessons into practice. Yes, students learn the key principles of MIL in the classroom but in order to apply these lessons, they have to adapt those key takeaways in their daily lives.

School Clubs: A Creative Space for Learning

Students must see the beauty of learning MIL through a community. Schools could better provide these avenues through organizations. In this way, they learn camaraderie and hard work towards passion. Here are some examples:

• Media Clubs: These clubs are like mini-media studios. This is where students produce newspapers, and videos, and manage social media. They’re learning the ropes of media production and the responsibility that comes with it. Furthermore, this could be a good training ground for them so that when they become professionals themselves they have an idea of what good content is, how to apply good media ethics, and the like.

• Debate and Journalism Clubs: These clubs encourage students to dig into topics, analyze information, and present their findings. They’re getting hands-on experience with fact-checking and ethical reporting – essential skills in the age of information overload. Also, these clubs help students to sharpen their critical thinking skills and writing skills.

Workshops and Training Programs: Learning by Doing

As discussed in previous articles, community engagement can foster an environment to normalizes clean and responsible media and information consumption. They can validate what students can learn and provide more avenues for students to learn beyond their school premises.

• Meriam’s Online World: This program by the National Council for Children’s Television offers workshops for teachers and students. It focuses on responsible media consumption and production. This is a fun and engaging way to understand the importance of media literacy in our digital world. 

• #DigiTalino Program: This gamified training program has reached thousands of Filipinos, including students. It teaches them how to spot fake news and misinformation through interactive sessions and storytelling.

• Mindanao Youth Training: In Mindanao, workshops are helping young people become critical thinkers about the information they encounter. This is especially important in regions where fake news can have serious consequences.

What do these initiatives have in common? They care about student’s vulnerability of being victims of misinformation.They understand that a responsible and well-informed citizenry that can affect other people’s lives depends on the critical thinking capacities of all people. Hence, it is a good net effect that they’re contributing to the Philippines and to the whole world.

Reaching Communities: Media Literacy for All

As previously discussed, there is a stark digital divide among communities based on geography and socio-economic status. So, there are organizations that ensure everyone gets media and information literate. 

For example, The National Endowment Fund for Children’s Television supports educational 

TV programs for kids. Meanwhile, the ASEAN Digital Literacy Programme is training instructors who then teach media literacy in their communities. These efforts ensure that even those in remote areas get access to essential training.

We have to understand that education is a right, not a privilege for the few. So, all key stakeholders must create ways for MIL education access to be inclusive and affordable. They are doing this great cause because they believe that every person despite of any background can contribute to social greatness in any possible way that they can.

The Proof is in the Results

Studies have shown that while high school students are active on social media, they often lack the skills to create quality content. In other words, it is not enough anymore to consume and scrutinize media whether it is credible or not. The real proof of whether students learn from MIL is that they create information that contributes to the well-being of society.

This emphasizes the need for extracurricular activities that give them practical experience. Programs like #DigiTalino have reported success in raising awareness and improving critical thinking among participants.

The Bottom Line

Extracurricular activities are proving to be a game-changer for media literacy in the Philippines. It is proven that school clubs and community initiatives prepare students to gain the skills they need to navigate the complex world of media. As the digital landscape keeps changing, these activities are crucial in ensuring that young people are prepared to be informed and responsible citizens.

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Encouraging Teachers for Media and Information Literacy in the Philippines

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 20, 2024 | Business

In the second installment of the four-part series of Media and Information Literacy Education in the Philippine Classrooms. This article delves into how the Philippines is preparing teachers for Media and Information Literacy (MIL). This also tackles about current challenges, innovative training programs, and strategies to empower educators.

For nations to succeed in the global digital revolution, media and information literacy (MIL) is the educational bedrock that we need right now. The Philippines recognizes this opportunity. They integrated MIL education into its K-12 curriculum. However, in the previous article, we know for a fact that there is a digital divide and infrastructure issues to make MIL accessible.

In this article, we’ll dive into the human resource part of the equation – the teachers. The success of this initiative rests in their hands. Sadly, the government is not making enough effort to ensure that every teacher is well-equipped and well-prepared in the digital golden age.

In the following section, we will discuss the importance of teacher empowerment, and the solutions to make our teachers proficient in MIL.

The Need for Teacher Empowerment

It is the first step that the Philippines integrated MIL into its curriculum. Nonetheless, there are still significant gaps in teacher readiness. Many teachers feel ill-equipped to teach MIL effectively primarily due to insufficient training and resources. 

We have to understand that MIL is a new subject that has been introduced to meet the demands of the digital world. Hence, the information is relatively new and not yet effectively democratized. This explains why teachers are ill-prepared. Aside from the content component problem, they also need to be trained on the execution component. 

What exacerbates this problem is that they also lack the resources to avail technologies that will train them to be MIL proficient. It is not reasonable for them to shoulder all the burden of this initiative where in fact they are not being paid enough in their current role. It is clear that our educators need more support.

A Two-Pronged Approach to Teacher Training

To empower our teachers, we need a robust approach to their training. This means comprehensive initial preparation. This covers teaching them the basics of MIL and effective strategies. Furthermore, we must also provide ongoing professional development, keeping them up-to-date with the latest teaching methods and technology trends.

Continuous Learning for Educators

Think of it like a continuous learning journey for our teachers. Workshops, seminars, and peer learning groups can all help them hone their skills and stay ahead of the curve. This constant engagement ensures that oureducators remain confident and capable in this ever-changing digital landscape.

Understand that the digital landscape is also continuously evolving. Hence, there are new trends that teachers must learn in order to keep up. So, failure to finance their ongoing training for MIL will make Filipino students further left behind compared to their international counterparts who are investing in MIL.

In addition, teachers are the main actors in making the whole system effective. Contents of the MIL instruction could be obsolete down the line but the pattern recognition and the skills that these teachers will develop over time will not. So, we must invest in teacher education in MIL instruction.

Engaging Pedagogy for MIL

Effective MIL training isn’t just about lectures. It’s about fostering critical thinking and real-world problem-solving. We need to use a variety of teaching methods like inquiry-based learning, case studies, and even simulations. This makes MIL more engaging and relatable for students.

Now, this is a challenge for the whole educational system in the Philippines where rote memorization is the key component of instruction and assessment. For years, students have demanded to memorize rather than scrutinize the facts that they dealt with. For example, history lessons make you memorize dates and the persons involved. What they should be teaching is why the event took place, whether should it have taken place and what are wegoing to do to prevent it from happening again.

This should be the norm in teaching MIL. Students must be taught how to scrutinize the credibility and accuracy of the medium they are going to consume. Then, they must use critical thinking skills like inference and drawing conclusions based on their context and other perspective.

What we’re saying is the pedagogy for MIL should not be rote memorization but analytical thinking.

Investing in Teachers, Investing in the Future

The key message here is if we invest in our teachers, we invest in our students. They should be given support through comprehensive training and ongoing development. The end result is that the next generation has the critical thinking skills to withstand our complex media environment. The future of MIL education in the Philippines is bright, and it all starts with empowering our teachers.

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Media and Information Literacy Education in the Philippines Classrooms

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Aug 19, 2024 | Business

This is the first installment of the four-part series of Media and Information Literacy Education in the Philippine Classrooms. This article analyzes the integration of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the Philippine curriculum. It also focuses on the challenges, strategies, and successes in teaching the subject to senior high school students.

In Finland, its government integrated high-quality standards for Media and Information Literacy in order toaddress the Russian government’s misinformation campaign. They acknowledge that the proliferation of fake news will always exist. They knew that they could not stop propaganda that sought to sow division. Hence, the way to resolve such issues is to develop critical thinking skills. After all, Finnish people will read that misinformation anyway. That is why this skill set is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

This is the scenario that the Philippines wants to avoid. This is why MIL has been made a core part of its Senior High School curriculum. They knew that teaching the youth MIL headstart would prevent them from becoming misinformed adults in the future. 

However, what does this mean for students and teachers, and what challenges lie ahead?

Impact of MIL on Students and Teachers

In the short term, the benefits will not be that obvious. However, in the long term, the students and the country as a whole will reap what they have sown. From the perspective of the students, they will have the necessary critical thinking skills to evaluate the correctness of information through cross-researching credible information sources. Moreover, critical thinking skills could be used in other facets of their lives like general life skills where using their common sense will be the norm.

In the grander scheme of things, this education they got from MIL instruction will prepare them for voting for the right candidate through the campaigns and biographies that they could get. They can also participate in national issues that the nation faces.

On the other hand, the benefit that the teacher will get from teaching Media and Information Literacy among students is that they could have a higher bargaining power to provide their schools with IT supplies and additional certifications that will upskill them. After all, they are the ones who will ensure the success of the said program. 

However, it is all theoretical unless the government funds MIL education. The goal is to develop well – informed citizenry through critical thinking. This can only be achieved when there is the right accommodation of infrastructure, resource allocation, and policy interventions because implementing MIL is expensive and labor-intensive.

As mentioned in the last series, the Philippines has huge economic disparities wherein it presents a stark digital divide. It is always up to the government on how to tackle these issues.

Overcoming Hurdles in MIL Education

Like any new initiative, teaching MIL has its challenges. These include:

• Lack of Teacher Training: Teachers lack the confidence to teach this subject due to a lack of specialized training and resources. Understandably, they will face that difficulty since MIL education is just a new subject matter. To bridge this gap, the Department of Education (DepEd) partnered with NGOs to offer workshops and mentorship programs to teachers so that they could be proficient in teaching the subject. 

• Curriculum Overload: The Philippine curriculum is stuffed with several subjects that it impossible to focus on MIL education. For this reason, some schools are creatively integrating MIL into existing subjects like English and Social Studies. This may seem an efficient way to teach MIL but to address this issue, the education department must decrease the subject loads of each student. After all, it is the improved skill sets of critical thinking, writing, and reading that matter, not the contents themselves since they may be obsolete in the future.

• Digital Divide: Limited access to technology in rural areas and poor communities remains a hurdle. Nevertheless, programs that opt for gadget distribution, and internet connectivity among far-flung places are the ones that level the playing field.

• Teacher Shortages: Sadly there are too many students in schools but not enough teachers who can educate. The lack of teachers, especially in remote areas, adds another layer of complexity. Some schools are addressing this by embedding MIL topics into other subjects, reducing the need for specialized teachers. However, the real kicker to solve this issue is to increase teacher’s pay so prospective teachers will be incentivized to teach.

Innovative Solutions for MIL in the Philippines

The government could adapt the following policy recommendation:

• Curriculum Upgrades: This does not mean adding subjects or making the courses more difficult than they are but adapting educational gold standards that aim to bolster education such as integrating critical thinking skills in classrooms rather than rote learning. This will complement MIL classes.

• Teacher Development: Investment allocation towards teacher training will empower educators to deliver high-quality MIL instruction. These include subsidies on gadgets and specialization towards MIL instruction.

• Bridging the Digital Divide: Efforts to expand digital infrastructure and provide students with the tools they needwill continue.

• Global Inspiration: The Philippines can draw inspiration from countries like Finland and Canada, which have successfully integrated MIL into their education systems.

Empowering the Next Generation

Teaching Media and Information Literacy is not just about preparing students against the tides of the digital world. It’s about empowering students to become critical thinkers, responsible media consumers, and active participants in a global society. The journey is a long hurdle, but the commitment to MIL education in the Philippines is a testament to the nation’s dedication to preparing its youth for the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.

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