We beg to differ.
OVERVIEW The embattled website Rappler.com have been through many issues and controversies since the dawn of the Duterte administration in the Philippines, alleged of misquoting the President, using fake photos, publishing fake news and propaganda, using questionable graphs and data, and putting various bloggers and netizens under bad light. In return, the President himself occasionally…
It’s a jungle out there, so goes the words of caution that we, our elders, and friends often throw out. Once we step outside our comfort zones, we soon realize – usually the hard way – that the world outside them is unforgiving, brutal, and not for the faint of heart. Whatever rules and conventions…
Read More “Here’s why it’s hard to feel sorry for ‘unmasked’ anonymous bloggers…” »
Because of the hardship of life in Filipino society – the degree of self-imposition of such hardship is another matter – a few behaviors seem deeply ingrained in the average Filipinos’ psyche: they will take any shortcut possible (even if illegal), they will resort to penny-pinching, and they will easily buy into things whose integrity…
Read More “Here is why the ‘fake news’ scare doesn’t resonate with Filipinos…” »
A serious effort to understand the true causes behind the purported proliferation of “fake news” in the Philippines begins with an examination of what motivates the average social media user to click the “Like”, “Retweet”, or “Forward” buttons on their devices. Those who decry the “ignorance” of the average social media user who mindlessly contributes…
Read More “Here is why ‘fake news’ and religion are the same” »
I do not understand why some members of mainstream media everywhere around the world are complaining about the proliferation of what they call “fake news”. It’s not even clear what their definition of fake news is. As far as I know, fake news has been around since forever. They used to be called tabloid reports…
Can we really blame Filipinos’ addiction to “fake news”? For that matter, are Filipinos really in any position to pontificate on the subtle differences between the art of producing “fake news” and the art of producing good fiction? We are, after all, talking about a people who see no difference between the persona that actor…
Read More “Filipinos cannot tell the difference between ‘fake news’ and literary fiction” »