Poe pushes probe on fake news proliferation

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Grace Poe called for a congressional inquiry into the proliferation of fake news, which she said is adversely affecting both public and private interests.

Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, said she was alarmed by the spread of fake news in the country and how it is being utilized by certain sectors.

In particular, Poe cited the recent controversy involving Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who implicated members of the political opposition, including two senators, in the conflict in Marawi City.

“What makes it worse is when the justice secretary himself willingly exploits and amplifies such fake news like a troll without a modicum of effort to at least verify the same just to malign political opponents,” Poe said.  

“He was at it again when he recklessly linked several of our colleagues in Congress to the Maute group, only to backtrack and offer excuses,” she added.

In a recent press briefing, Aguirre claimed members of the opposition could be involved in the attack of the Maute group in Marawi City as part of efforts to destabilize the Duterte administration.

He named Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano and Ronald Llamas, who served as the political adviser of former president Benigno Aquino III, as among the members of the opposition who allegedly met with clan leaders in Marawi just before the attack of the Maute group.

Trillanes and Aquino, who both showed proof that they were not in Marawi City on May 2 when the alleged meeting took place, immediately refuted Aguirre’s claims.

A photo of the meeting, which was on the phone of Aguirre, turned out to be false since it was taken in 2015 at the Iloilo Airport, but not in Marawi City.

Aguirre blamed the media for misquoting him.

Poe called on Aguirre to “faithfully do his duty to serve public interest.”

“And that requires siding with the truth,” she said.

Poe said a congressional inquiry into the spread of fake news would hopefully present ways to address this problem and penalize its perpetrators, referring to both the authors and the websites hosting them.