Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

PH's top 'fake news' researchers launch 'disinfo hub' ahead of 2025 polls

Article (news)

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1732779609937Screen Shot 2024-11-28 at 3.39.54 PM.png" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The Philippine Disinformation Resource Hub is a repository of references, learning materials, and &quot;everything you need to know about disinformation studies in the Philippines.&quot; Screenshot from its website</span></span></span>MANILA — A group of Filipino scholars who had led pioneering research on &quot;fake news&quot; in the Philippines has launched an online portal that promises to help Filipinos combat disinformation ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.</div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/01/20/21/meme-accounts-could-be-disinformation-actors-warns-prof">Meme accounts could be &#x27;disinformation actors,&#x27; warns prof</a></div><p>The Philippine Disinformation Resource Hub (<a href="https://siglaresearch.org/ph-disinfo-hub/">PH Disinfo Hub</a>) is a repository of references, learning materials, and &quot;everything you need to know about disinformation studies in the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;As the Philippines&#x27; first dedicated digital platform to tackle the complicated world of fake news, the PH Disinfo Hub is built to make it make sense—for the ordinary mamamayan to have the right tools they’ll need to make informed choices,&quot; according to Sigla Research Center, the creator of the portal, in collaboration with Out of The Box Media Literacy.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/05/22/23/should-misinformation-peddlers-be-given-platforms">Should misinformation peddlers be given platforms?</a></div><p>Sigla is a non-profit led by scholars and community organizers, including Jonathan Corpus Ong, a professor and author of the book &quot;Trolls for Sale&quot; as well as  journal articles on disinformation. </p><p>Aside from the &quot;ordinary folk,&quot; the online portal also caters to academics, teachers, librarians, civil society leaders, and anyone interested in understanding disinformation or influence operations, whether for personal consumption or research purposes. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/27/expert-warns-of-escalation-in-use-of-deepfakes-after-release-of-fake-video-of-marcos-jr-1247">Expert warns of escalation in use of deepfakes after release of fake video of Marcos Jr.</a></div><p>One feature of the portal is section that compiled dozens of academic works dating back to 2018 that tacked disinformation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.</p><p>&quot;These resources offer a vital understanding of how disinformation strategies are crafted, spread, and countered.&quot;</p><div><strong>WHY IT MATTERS</strong></div><p>Over five years since Ong&#x27;s research with media researcher Jason Vincent Cabañes on &quot;<a href="https://newtontechfordev.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ARCHITECTS-OF-NETWORKED-DISINFORMATION-FULL-REPORT.pdf">Architects of Networked Disinformation</a>&quot; that uncovered the players behind the disinformation campaigns during the 2016 elections, it appears that nothing much has changed policy-wise in the Philippines as the &quot;industry&quot; even flourished in the next election cycles.</p><p>A succeeding research called &quot;<a href="https://mediamanipulation.org/sites/default/files/media-files/Parallel-Public-Spheres.pdf">Parallel Public Spheres</a>&quot; found that the 2016 tactics evolved into a more sophisticated &quot;influence operations&quot; in a bid to &quot;evade efforts at fact checking.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/02/02/22/study-identifies-signs-of-political-manipulation-on-social-media">Study identifies signs of &#x27;political manipulation&#x27; on social media</a></div><p>During the final Senate hearing on POGOs, Sen. Risa Hontiveros made  a bombshell revelation that the crime-infested industry may have been used by China to carry out espionage and disinformation operations in the Philippines, citing information from a self-confessed Chinese &quot;asset.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/26/-a-monster-hontiveros-bares-pogo-ties-to-china-espionage-disinformation-ops-1156">&#x27;A monster&#x27;: Hontiveros bares POGO ties to China &#x27;espionage, disinformation&#x27; ops</a></div><p>&quot;I was shocked by the information, which confirms some of my earlier theories that scam cities are used to sow disinformation campaigns to influence hearts and minds. It seems that the purpose of these compounds is not only gambling, scams and trafficking, but also fake news,&quot; Hontiveros said. </p><p>In an earlier investigative report by Reuters, it found that the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/19/imee-marcos-wants-senate-probe-into-us-propaganda-operation-vs-china-s-sinovac-846">US military</a> used at least 300 accounts on social media platform X to cast doubt on vaccines and personal protective equipment from China. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/25/us-did-not-deny-alleged-black-propaganda-vs-china-vaccine-ph-officials-1117">US did not deny alleged black propaganda vs China vaccine: PH officials</a></div><p>A recent report by the Agence France-Presse quoted Elise Thomas, a senior analyst at London&#x27;s Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank, as saying that &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/11/26/philippines-china-clashes-trigger-money-making-disinformation-1123">revenue-making</a> disinformation campaigns have emerged as a &#x27;big industry&#x27; in Southeast Asia, where labor is relatively cheap.&quot;</p><p>With around six months to go before the 2025 midterm elections, Sigla said it would also monitor &quot;the flow of information during the campaign period.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This research project seeks to shift academic attention from the national level of electoral disinformation to the local level... [and] outline national trends and characteristics of electoral disinformation and influence operations,&quot; said Juan Felix, Sigla&#x27;s head of partnerships and engagements.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5RnQlb8Iu_4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Philippine Disinformation Resource Hub by Sigla Reseach Center is a repository of references, learning materials, and "everything you need to know about disinformation studies in the Philippines."</p>

The Philippine Disinformation Resource Hub by Sigla Reseach Center is a repository of references, learning materials, and "everything you need to know about disinformation studies in the Philippines."