Who's Afraid of Fake News

I don't mind fake news. Everyone has a brain to discern between what's fake & real news? It would benefit you to exercise your brain once in a while to clear the cobwebs there & to avoid contracting Alzheimer's. And if there's a law prohibiting fake news who will determine what's fake & what's legit? Rappler? LOL!! Create another government agency specifically for that & add to the government bureaucracy? Or will we still rely on the news agencies' self-policing their own people or self-censoring their own reports or contents? Aren't they doing that already?

What you read in social media being posted by netizens are NOT FAKE NEWS simply because THEY ARE NOT NEWS at all. They are merely OPINIONS. Like ears, everyone has them. These people post stuff independent of any news organization. And they don't answer to any editing managers who will determine whether to approve a report or not. What many people refer to as 'fake news' are mostly innocent errors (like Mocha saying Mayon is in Naga...such a triviality to go into a meltdown! Sheesh!!), or proof of the writer's laziness to fact-check, or someone's bias or prejudice against someone who they are politically opposed to (usually) or dislike, or plain insults against certain personalities, or just plain stupidity on the part of the poster (I've read so many inanities from all sides). Some also are merely propaganda to demonize people or advance an agenda. The bottom line is they are all or mostly just PERSONAL OPINIONS, not NEWS! And if you think they are real news, then I suggest you check yourself in to the nearest loony bin.

We already have anti-cyber libel laws to punish people who post libelous information about other people. Let that work for you if you thought you have been libeled by someone, although I'm not in favor of that law either.

I think the Senate investigation on fake news is a useless exercise & a waste of time & taxes. Even if the senators could come up with a law banning fake news, Prez Duterte will never sign it. He would veto the bill. Malacanang already expressed their opinion on such a legislation regarding fake news since they think that such a law violates free speech or free expression. See? Duterte is not a dictator after all. He is for free speech and welcomes the open marketplace of ideas as long as they don't jeopardize public safety.

Fake news come from all camps & political persuasions, local and foreign. Just because they brand themselves 'disente' they are such. The Liberal Party as far as I can remember has been in the business of fake news, baseless allegations and dirty tricks since the 2010 presidential campaign against Villar, and then Arroyo, and then Corona, and other political enemies. The Senate hearing on fake news if blaming most of the fake news on one side of the political divide would be silly and risks itself of losing credibility.

Fake news about Mocha & Bongbong Marcos

From http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Kaya ba nag-aalburoto ang Mayon?

Fake news from TV5

A Media Literacy Program was suggested to counter Fake News during the Senate Hearing on Fake News. WoW! What a waste of time! Ang daming BALAT SIBUYAS sa Pinas!

Probably because there are more women bloggers or women in mainstream media. Is Ressa pulling out the gender card? Is she hinting at sexism?

Rappler has this reputation among majority of the pro-Duterte people:

May pa-resiresibo pa si Jover. She was not even apologetic. Why did she not confront the 7 senators and asked them point blank why they didn't sign? Kiko Pangilinan is confirmed as the source of this Fake News. I'm not even surprised. Dirty Tricks, LP style. Cocoy Dayao (of Silent No More), Jover and 3 others carried the “Seven Deadly Sens” in their respective posts wherein they humiliated seven senators for their alleged refusal to sign Senate Resolution 516, authored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, denouncing EJKs. The senators maligned in the Silent No More and Pinoy Ako Blog blogs were Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, Dick Gordon, Manny Pacquiao, Migz Zubiri, Gringo Honasan, Cynthia Villar, and Sotto. Sotto said, "Magaling ‘yung si Thinking Pinoy ha. Maraming natutunan ang NBI sa kanya.” TP helped the NBI unmask the handler of SNM (SilentNoMore) and PAB (PinoyAkoBlog).

Did Kiko apologize to the 7 senators? F*CKER! Chizmoso! Did he even admit to the slander? Watch the video here: https://m.facebook.com/forthemotherlandph/posts/591407614558222

Senator Grace Poe, authored a Senate bill which seeks penalties for public officials who spread fake news online. Talk about “unconstitutional.” Remind ko lang poe ang mga voters, please please lang don't ever vote for Di$Grace Poe in future elections. Me, NEVAH!

Roque hit Poe’s bill in a statement on Saturday (February 10), claiming the proposed measure would be “violative of equal protection clause” of the Constitution as there is no basis to single out government employees from contributing to the proliferation of false information. Poe’s bill seeks to amend Sections 4(b) and 7 of Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees to bar public officials, especially those in charge of disseminating news, from publishing, disseminating or causing to publish or disseminate false news or information.

I think this was how they proved that only one person administered or owned multiple websites, many of which are anti-Duterte websites among them Silent No More and Pinoy Ako Blog:

Asan na kaya si Cocoy Dayao? Risa & Bam, have you seen him?

Notice how members of the Opposition keep insisting they are victims of “fake news”? Very hard for them to accept they lost the election. They are so biased and self-righteous, they think they are always right and their enemies are just “lying” even when latter use data. For them, fake news is a threat to democracy, while the NPA is not.

Apparently it is 'wrong' for the government to 'wage war' against the NPA but it is not wrong for the NPA to 'wage war' against the government. Am I missing something here?

The yellow horde tell us we can't talk about Dengvaxia because we are not doctors. Well then kayong mga dilaw shouldn't talk about EJKs because you're not criminologist or criminal investigators.​ Fair enough?

Here is a piece of Fake News from the CBCP:

I'd like to remind the CBCP that there is a separation of Church and State. Gospel education is not the responsibility of the gov't. CBCP, that's your job. Gospel education is not even effective in deterring corruption in public & private sectors or pedophilia within the church. Is the CBCP basing their statement or judgement on combating HIV on their own research? Did they conduct a secret research on condom use that we don't know about? How come the CBCP knows that condom is NOT EFFECTIVE in preventing HIV infection? CBCP might know something based on their experience?

The CBCP take in money and not pay taxes, and yet they have the temerity to instruct the government to do their work for them? Here is what the World Health Org (WHO) have to say about condom as a HIV transmission preventive:

Condoms for HIV prevention

http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/condoms/en/

Condoms, when used correctly and consistently, are highly effective in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A large body of scientific evidence shows that male latex condoms have an 80% or greater protective effect against the sexual transmission of HIV and other STIs.

Condoms are a key component of comprehensive HIV prevention. WHO supports a combination of approaches to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV, including correct and consistent condom use, reduction in the number of sexual partners, HIV testing and counselling, delaying sexual debut, treatment for STIs and male circumcision. In 2009, 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV.

WHO works with its key partners in HIV prevention, in particular UNFPA and UNAIDS, to define global policy standards and support countries in condom procurement, quality assurance, promotion and distribution.

This blog is still under development. Do come back when I finalize this article.