The Duterte government is not engaged in the proliferation of fake news and has actually called for truth and fairness in reporting issues, a Palace official said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo tried to dispute a study that identified “State-sponsored disinformation” as supposedly one of the models of fake news in the country.
The study, titled “Politics and Profit in the Fake News Factory: Four Work Models of Political Trolling in the Philippines,” was published by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Strategic Communications Center of Excellence. The three other disinformation models are reportedly the in-house staff model, advertising and PR model, and clickbait model.
“Ang gobyerno kailanman ay hindi pumapasok sa fake news. Doon nga nagagalit ang goyberno ni Presidente, ‘yung binabago ‘yung mga facts and figures at hindi nagiging matapat,” Panelo said. “Di ba ‘yan ang palaging pinapakiusap niya sa lahat gusto niya ‘yung truth at fairness,” he added.
In the study posted on the NATO Stratcom website, the “State-sponsored” model of disinformation supposedly involves cooperation among various government agencies “to consolidate political authority and legitimacy while muffling opposition voices.” The techniques reportedly includes formal intimation and digital bullying that lead to silencing, self-censorship, and chilling effects among dissenters and the public.
According to the study, the State-sponsored propaganda model assumes “intentionality from the President himself to intimidate and harass his critics.”
“Journalistic reports about the State-sponsored propaganda model assume intentionality from the President himself to intimidate and harass his critics,” the study said, citing data from Rappler and Vera Files. “His message is taken forward by his so-called ‘keyboard army,’ consisting of hyper-partisan political pundits, social media influencers, and fans,” it added.
Panelo, however, denied that the Duterte government was out to intimidate and harass critics. He noted that free speech and press freedom remain vibrant in the country.
“Si Presidente iisa lang panuntunan niya – bigyan ng proteksyon at pagsilbihan ang taumbayan. ‘Yun ang kanyang batayan sa lahat ng kanyang galaw bilang Presidente ng bansa,” he said.
He also pointed out that the President is actually the victim of harassment by government critics. He said Duterte, however, still respects free speech and has not filed cases against his vocal critics.
“Siya ang hina-harass ng mga kritiko. Hindi siya nag-haharass. Pinapatupad lang niya kung ano ang batas,” he said. (Genalyn Kabiling)