Various sectors urged to join forces vs online trolling

MANILA, Philippines – Various stakeholders, including the Department of Education, must join forces to combat rampant trolling and spread of misinformation on social media that have been victimizing people, Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV said.

During a recent Senate hearing on the responsible use of social media in schools, Aquino raised alarm over the vicious trolling as well as misinformation and abuse in social media.

Aquino, who chairs the Senate committee on education, said the volume and frequency of trolling and misinformation must be addressed.

“Maybe we can work on something that can match that level of speed, exponential growth and energy that we see online,” he said.

Aquino earlier filed Senate Resolution 173 to determine how schools were educating and developing students regarding the responsible use of social media.

He said DepEd could launch various activities such as declaring a “media literacy week” or a “responsible social media use week,” to create awareness on the need to be responsible in using the internet.

Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa and Carlo Ople of Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP), who attended the hearing, were among the private sector representatives who expressed willingness to help the initiative against trolling and misinformation on social media. 

“Trolling is a global phenomenon. Real victims are those who believe in misinformation. We need explosive and faster solutions,” Ople said.

Ressa, for her part, stressed the need to integrate responsible use of social media in schools, reiterate moral obligations and strengthen constructive debates to fight the spread of hate on social media.

DepEd officials said they were establishing mechanisms that would guide “digital learners” to make them responsible social media users.

Aquino said the ultimate aim for responsible use of social media and preventing the spread of misinformation in the web was “to create a society that is more humane and compassionate towards each other and a Philippines that is more tolerant of different ideas and beliefs.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Leila de Lima lamented the proliferation of fake social media accounts and what she described as manufactured news in the web “where hackers, fanatics and spammers have abused the freedom of the Internet to foment lies and hatred at the detriment of rational discourse.”

She cited the attacks on former presidents Fidel Ramos and Benigno Aquino III, actress Agot Isidro, as well as on herself when a supposed news report on the internet reported that she bought a $6-million mansion in New York.

A cursory check at the address of the alleged property showed it was a popular landmark in New York, the Barlow-Pell Mansion Museum.  

De Lima warned the misuse and abuse of social media to include spreading false reports passed off as news could harm democracy.

She urged legitimate news organizations to act as gatekeepers of information.