Given their capability to influence public sentiment, broadcast media should help disseminate truthful information and prevent the spread of “invented facts,” according to Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.
Andanar made a pitch against the proliferation of fake news while reminding broadcasters to uphold “moral standards” in their profession during a recent forum.
“In a functioning democracy such as ours, the freedom of belief and speech are, and must be, in tandem with the values of integrity and the truth,” he said at the Annual Management Conference of the Philippine Broadcasting Service in Quezon City.
“Stand against the threat of calamitous falsehood, the destruction of the truth, and the careless profligacy of invented facts,” said Andanar, a broadcast journalist before joining the Duterte administration in 2016.
Andanar acknowledged that broadcast media, particularly radio, remained a powerful tool of communication. Radio, he said, is considered one of the most convenient and accessible media that can inform and influence its audience.
“However else the words over radio are utilized, they influence and shape thoughts, rightfully or wrongly, depending on the mind-set of the individual whose voice is heard on the microphone,” he said.
He also highlighted the important partnership between the government and broadcast media to foster efficient and effective public service.
“The content contained in our narratives are the very substance of good governance together with the ideals set by our President from his vision to give a comfortable life of dignity to every Filipino,” he said.
“May your voices be heard beyond this pledge, and well into the air waves that weave a nation we are building, one broadcast at a time,” he added.
Andanar’s remarks came days after the government denounced the fake news about President Duterte supposedly being told to behave by the King of Thailand during a regional summit.
The Palace claimed that those behind the “cheap political stunt” meant to embarrass the President abroad should be brought to justice. (Genalyn Kabiling)
