More than 85 students and communications practitioners apprise on fact-checking, disinformation, and other key topics during a media and information literacy program spearheaded by the Philippine Press Institute and the Hanns Seidel Foundation at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, March 19-20. (Photo: GDA/PIA-10)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — “We can all be fact-checkers. All of us can do so with the right tools and mindset when encountering information,” said journalist and professor Joyce P. Pañares.
Speaking at a media and information literacy forum organized by the Philippine Press Institute and the Hanns Seidel Foundation at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan on March 19-20, Pañares emphasized that fact-checking is not limited to professionals. Ordinary citizens can also identify and challenge fake or misleading online content.
Pañares, managing editor of The Manila Standard and professor at the University of the Philippines Department of Journalism, underscored the importance of understanding the distinctions between misinformation, disinformation and malinformation, collectively known as “information disorders” in fact-checking.
Misinformation involves sharing false information without intent to harm, while disinformation is the deliberate spread of false information to cause harm. Malinformation, the most challenging to counter, involves sharing factual information out of context to cause harm.
To combat information disorders, Pañares advised the public to employ vertical and lateral reading techniques. This entails verifying the author, date and source of information and comparing it with other reliable content.
She also cautioned against content with emotionally charged language. “If you notice that a headline makes you excessively happy or angry, that should be a red flag. You need to pause and check, ‘Does this headline accurately reflect the story?’” Pañares said.
Pañares shared free fact-checking tools such as ICANN Lookup (https://lookup.icann.org/) to verify website legitimacy and Google’s search engine with search operators for more focused results. Photos can be fact-checked using Google’s reverse image search and metadata analysis tools like Metadata2Go (https://www.metadata2go.com/).
She also reminded fact-checkers to approach their work with empathy and urged students to maintain a healthy skepticism toward online content, fostering critical thinking and a pursuit of truth.
The two-day media and information literacy program also covered artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, visual storytelling and voter education. (GDA/PIA-10)
