Filipinos ‘Victimized, Not Gullible’ by Disinformation, Professor Says

Filipinos are falling victim to widespread disinformation campaigns rather than simply being gullible consumers of fake news, according to a leading academic expert studying the phenomenon.

Dr. Maria Diosa Labiste, a professor at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication, emphasized this distinction during a recent media forum focused on the growing problem of disinformation in the Philippines.

“I don’t think Filipinos are gullible. I think they are just victimized by systematic and sophisticated disinformation campaigns,” Labiste said. She explained that these operations utilize various platforms and employ tactics specifically designed to manipulate public opinion.

The professor’s remarks come amid mounting concern over the proliferation of false information across Philippine social media platforms, particularly during election periods. Her research indicates that disinformation campaigns in the country have become increasingly sophisticated, utilizing coordinated networks across multiple platforms to spread misleading narratives.

According to data from the Digital News Report 2023, approximately 68 percent of Filipinos express concern about distinguishing real information from false content online. This represents one of the highest rates of concern in Southeast Asia, reflecting the scale of the problem facing the nation’s information ecosystem.

Labiste pointed out that disinformation operations often exploit existing social divisions and emotional triggers to achieve maximum impact. “These campaigns are designed to appeal to people’s biases and emotions. They’re crafted to look legitimate and often mix facts with falsehoods, making them difficult to identify as misleading,” she explained.

The Philippines has become particularly vulnerable to such campaigns due to several factors. With over 76 million social media users spending an average of four hours daily on these platforms, the country has been dubbed the “social media capital of the world.” This high level of engagement creates fertile ground for misinformation to spread rapidly.

Political polarization has further exacerbated the problem. Jonathan Corpus Ong, a disinformation researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who has collaborated with Labiste on several studies, noted that “political actors have weaponized social media to attack opponents and control narratives, creating partisan echo chambers where facts become secondary to tribal loyalty.”

The economic model of social media platforms also contributes significantly to the problem. Algorithms designed to maximize engagement often promote controversial or emotionally charged content, regardless of its accuracy. “The platforms’ business models incentivize viral content, not truthful content,” Labiste observed.

Media literacy initiatives have struggled to keep pace with evolving disinformation tactics. Traditional approaches focusing solely on fact-checking have proven insufficient against narratives that appeal to deeply held beliefs or emotional responses.

The impact extends beyond politics into public health and social cohesion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy in parts of the Philippines was fueled by coordinated misinformation campaigns, demonstrating how digital falsehoods can translate into real-world harm.

Various sectors are now working to address the challenge. Media organizations like ABS-CBN, GMA, and Rappler have expanded fact-checking operations, while civil society groups are developing more sophisticated media literacy programs tailored to different demographic segments.

Regulatory approaches remain controversial, with concerns about potential infringement on free speech rights. The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology has proposed measures to combat fake news, but critics worry about government overreach.

Labiste emphasized that effective solutions must be multifaceted, involving platform regulation, improved media literacy, and greater accountability for those who deliberately spread falsehoods. “This is not just about teaching people to spot fake news. It’s about addressing the systems and incentives that allow disinformation to flourish,” she said.

As the Philippines approaches another election cycle, the stakes of addressing disinformation grow higher. Experts warn that without significant intervention, the integrity of democratic processes remains at risk from increasingly sophisticated manipulation campaigns.

“Filipinos aren’t lacking critical thinking skills,” Labiste concluded. “They’re facing a tsunami of manipulated information designed specifically to overwhelm those skills.”