JAKARTA, Indonesia (PIA) —The NoFake Duo from the Philippines clinched the top prize at the Digital Sparks Challenge 2024 held in Jakarta, Indonesia, recently, cementing the Philippine youth’s commitment to fighting for truth in the media.
The duo, Jafar S. Zamora and Al-gafar C. Mauna, are Mindanao State University-IIT students who pitched their Project REYAL to a panel of judges at the Digital SPARK Challenge 2024 (the ‘Ideathon’), held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. The initiative is supported by the ASEAN-Australia Political Security Partnership (APSP) program, an Australian Government initiative implemented by The Asia Foundation (TAF).
Their project REYAL, which stands for Raising Empowerment for Youth in Appropriate Media and Information Literacy, intends to raise awareness among the youth worldwide to be critical about every online information they consume.
“Gusto naming mangyari sa mga kabataan ng Pilipinas at sa mundo is to equip them with necessary tools and knowledge para ma-discern nila yung fact from fiction. Gusto namin na gawin nila is before mag-share ng news articles; it is very important they verify muna nila ito bago i-amplify,” Zamora said.
(We want to equip the Filipino youth, and the world over, with necessary tools and knowledge that enables them to discern and distinguish facts from fiction. We want the youth to verify first every news article or information they see online before sharing and amplifying them.)
Zamora added that Project REYAL is a youth-focused media literacy campaign designed to combat fake news. It educates young people on responsible media consumption, fact-checking, and critical thinking through interactive content, workshops, and online tools, empowering them to recognize and address misinformation.
Further, the duo said that their motivation stemmed from the growing prevalence of fake news in the community and its negative impact. “As media literacy advocates, we sought to create a campaign that equips the youth with the tools to responsibly navigate today’s media environment,” Mauna said.
“Napakaraming perspective ang natutunan namin (We have learned various perspectives) shared by our ASEAN co-participants on the topics,” Mauna said, adding that the Digital SPARK Challenge gave them the opportunity to expand their efforts and reach a wider audience, amplifying the mission to counter misinformation.
After the win, the duo plans to sustain and expand its ongoing initiatives within the community.
“We plan to organize additional learning sessions, targeting the youth demographic, featuring a young journalist as the keynote speaker. Additionally, we aim to meet with the organizers to strategize the launch of our digital campaign, which will be amplified and integrated through ASEAN’s official communication channels, allowing us to reach a wider audience and strengthen our efforts to combat fake news on a regional scale,” Zamora said.
Twenty-four teams from ASEAN member countries and allies competed at the Digital SPARK Challenge 2024 (the ‘Ideathon’), pitching their best project to fight fake news. After the final round of the top 6, the top 3 best ideas/projects were named on Oct. 3, with the Philippines declared champion, followed by Australia (1st runner-up) and Indonesia (2nd runner-up).
The Ideathon is part of the Campaign for ASEAN Youth on the Effects of Fake News. It has engaged youth aged 18–25 from AMS (ASEAN Member States), Timor-Leste, and Australia with a total of 24 teams of two members (two teams per country) in an idea competition to raise awareness on the effects of fake news.
Meanwhile, ASEAN-member countries share innovations and best practices versus fake news on October 1 at the ASEAN-Australia Workshop to Familiarize the ASEAN Guideline on Management of Government Information in Combating Fake News and Disinformation in the Media.
The Philippine delegation is led by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) team composed of Bradley S. De Leon, Division Head of Creative and Production Services (CPSD), as head of delegation, together with team members Emver Cortez, Regional Head (RH) of the National Capital Region (NCR), and Rene Carbayas, Regional Head of Region 11, who shared government approaches and the national campaign #MagingMapanuri with the assembly as part of the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) campaign. (RVC/PIA-Davao)
