Belmonte’s fake news aikido

As a very vocal proponent and advocate of the fight against disinformation, I often get asked the same question over and over again: “What is the best way to fight fake news?”

First, I must say that it is a very sad commentary about the current state of our socio-cultural psyche that this question needs to be asked at all, much less repeated. The undeniable reality, however, is that fake news is not only here to stay, but has evolved and become way more sophisticated over time.

Its peak season, of course, comes during elections. Many traditional politicians – perhaps due to the fact that they have no achievements to speak of whatsoever – will anchor their entire campaign messaging on slinging mud at their opponents. Normally, the absence of any wrongdoing would stop this strategy in its tracks, but the trapos will simply ignore this fact and move on to pure invention.

So circling back to the original question, what is the best way to fight fake news? At the risk of oversimplification, the best way to fight disinformation is with the truth. More contingently, however, it is the truth told well, and presented in such a manner that the one who created the fake news ends up flying through the air and landing flat on their faces. A “fake news aikido” maneuver, if you will, wherein the attacker’s own momentum and “gigil” (for lack of an equivalent English word) is used against him.

In my mind, there is no better example of this principle than Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. She has been subjected to the furnace of disinformation repeatedly, if not relentlessly, and has come out of the forge even stronger.

So how did she do it? First, consistent with who she is as a person and the kind of administration she is running, she held herself accountable for true and authentic points of improvement. She acknowledged the legitimate criticisms, listened to the productive feedback and went straight to work in addressing the gaps. Accordingly, “we will do better and improve” was no longer a mere soundbite or empty promise for Mayor Joy. She backed up the words with actions.

Second, she did not dignify fake news that was patently ridiculous. Very often, if not always, the intention behind the spread of fake news is to make the recipient furious, to the point of losing composure. While her fake news spreader brought an entire dog-and-pony show just so that his fake news would be noticed, Mayor Joy (I imagine) was suppressing her laughter. Even in the animal kingdom, a lion will never join the antics of a hyena.

Closely related to this point, she let her work speak for itself, and allowed the proper source of authority to put finality on false accusations. When a notoriously inept “survey firm” began releasing numbers that claimed she was behind in her bid for a second term, Mayor Joy did not stoop down and address it (after all, the numbers were truly absurd). Instead, numerous reputable survey firms repeatedly affirmed that she was ahead by an average of 30-plus percentage points, thus highlighting the desperation of her opponents. More notably, when there were left-and-right accusations about fiscal mismanagement (reaching comical levels), Mayor Joy never became defensive or combative. Instead, it was the Commission on Audit itself that debunked all the claims, and even awarded Quezon City with the highest audit rating the city has ever achieved.

More recently, there is now a move to spread fake news about Mayor Joy’s political alliances and official endorsements. Again, she let the history of her work speak for itself, and demonstrated that Quezon City truly is an “open city,” welcoming candidates from all political parties and affiliations with equal importance.

If only there were belts to be awarded for “aikido defense against fake news,” Mayor Joy Belmonte would certainly be a 10th-degree black belt!