The “Democracy and Disinformation,” Conference with 42 resource persons discussed  ways to tackle  fake news, other forms of disinformation, and how to fight back .For the first time. journalists, online media and bloggers collaborated to tackle why “fake news” and other forms of disinformation threaten our freedoms and ways on fighting back

I know some of you missed the two day conference last February 12 and 13, 2018 but you can watch the videos below:

Day 1- February 12, 2018

Day 2 – February 13, 2018

The highlights of the conference can be gleaned by  quotable quotes from some of the resource speaker.

February 12, 2018 – Why Fake News and other Information disorders

Day 1 talked about the prevalence of disinformation and how it  affects democracy.

“The truth is a harder sell than the lies” – Cherian George, Centre for Media and Communication Research,  on the struggles facing journalists in the struggle to #FightDisinfo

“The problem in lying is also the drama. For journalists, how do you present truth better than lies”- Malou Mangahas, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

“Challenge for journalists is to discern and not peddle misinformation by the president” – Ellen Tordesillas, Vera Files

“Too many journalists perceive their roles as nothing more than stenographers, which results in amplifying the disinformation.”, Cherian George

Watch the video:

BUHAY KA PA BA? Portrait of a president as a source of disinformation from VERA Files on Vimeo.

“When writing corruption stories, go beyond personalities, look at impact, effects.” Ron Jabal, Public Relations Society of the Philippines

“Duterte is not just giving you information, but providing you drama… Duterte is giving you a performance.” – Ron Jabal, Public Relations Society of the Philippines

“Let’s get back to basics. We need to hold politicians to account; we are their employers.”- Peter Graste, University of Queensland

“Press freedom, not a privilege, as the president said, but a RIGHT. No one can tell us otherwise.” – John Nery, Philippine Daily Inquirer

“I think the period of intimidation is ending; there’s more and more courage. Organizing the Democracy and Disinformation conference itself is an act of courage”- Howie Severino, GMA News

“Someone is trying to break into your brain and into your heart.” –  Maria Ressa , Rappler,  sounds the alarm against state-sponsored trolling and disinformation

“You have to get rid of apathy;  If you want a safe space, build communities;  Collaborate” – Maria Ressa

” In journalism, we have internal standards and we can’t write whatever we want. When we make mistakes, we rectify them. We are accountable to the public we serve.” – Jamela Alindogan. Al-Jazeera

“The idea that we have to regulate fake news when we can’t agree on its definition is problematic. We have to use the same language to talk about the same issues”- Claire Wardle, First Draft News

“ Be thick-faced, be critical, and be decisive… ‘Wag lahat papatulan.” Juned Sonido, Blog Watch

“Demand [sources of information online] to prove their point. You have the right to ask for proof. Ask ‘where did they get this?’ Your mindset should be to always question.”- Juned, Sonido

“Peddlers of fake news use a lot of emotional hooks to do clickbait online”- Sun Sun Lim, Singapore University of Technology and Design

“The way we value news on social media is changing. It is more relational than informational “, Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University

“Already the poor, marginalized, the oppressed may not be able to speak as loud and clearly. Few of them call attention of journalists, many of them suffer in silence.” Marvic Leonen, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

“It is not always about you. If you all learn to live with this, then we may guarantee our fundamental freedoms, including the poor, marginalized – those who are invisible to all of us.”-  Marvic Leonen, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

Watch the video. Listen to SC Associate Justice Leonen : They prey on the unenlightened… The demagogue thrives on dichotomies: The us vs they syndrome. They also thrive on instinct, passion, and the visual… They demonize their enemies often in order to dehumanize them.

February 13, 2018 –  Best Practices and Fighting Back

Day 2 discussed on best practices of media practitioners and fighting back disinformation.

“We are in this fake news architecture that a leader walks with no clothes and we are not doing anything “- Brother Armin Luisitro, De La Salle Philippines

“We don’t need numbers. Truth stands on its own. We need truth-tellers to tell the emperor that he has no clothes. Even if we just 11, let the dough rise.” – Brother Armin Luisitro,

“We need to strengthen “silent middle voices” and tag sources of hope, trust and conviction”- Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ, Ateneo de Manila

“There is no substitute for actual contact and face-to-face interactions. We need to bring the stories to the fore”- Fr. Jett Villarin SJ

“Truth is the best defense. Whatever they attack you with, as long as stories are accurate and fair, you can fight the trolls.” – Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN

” We should focus on the masterminds of lies and stop focusing our time on the recipients. The 24-hour news cycle has forced us to become sprinters. We’ve paid the high price for that. We play catch-up with fact checking.” – Inday Varona,  Let’s Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI)

“We cannot demand the public to listen to us, we must listen to them as well, even if what they say sounds discomforting”- Inday Varona

“Community journalism is important. We have to think about how good journalism can reach the most vulnerable. We need to make people feel local issues are being represented “- Cheryl Ruth Soriano, De la Salle University

“I think eventually people will start distrusting Facebook as a source and will turn to something else”- Clarissa David, University of the Philippines

“Just keep  calling out. We call out as we see it; try to engage the administration”- Jane Uymatiao, Blog Watch

“I ‘m not for restricting those bloggers who are noisy. I defend everybody’s right to speak”- Jane Uymatiao

“There is a big issue with media bias. Even just choosing which event to cover can be considered a bias. Editorial judgment is being able to carefully choose what you think is important to the audience” – Ed Lingao , TV 5

“Discourse has to happen, discussion has to happen, arguments will happen, but you have to ask yourself  “does it deserve  my reaction?”. Choose your battles – Gang Badoy Capati, Citizen Safe

“Silence is not an option. I kept quiet for a while. I think it contributed to the violence” – Gang Badoy Capati

“I’m concerned that we have journalists that are forced to spend time dealing with trolls – and as a result they can’t focus enough on their own crucial work.”, Clarissa David

“Technology got us into this mess. We’ve created, through engineering, a system that isn’t working for us: disinformation. If we’ve engineered ourselves into it, we need to engineer ourselves out as well.”, Peter Graste

You can also read the highlights here:

Leonen on holding the line: ‘It involves knowing, critical analysis’

Angels, zombies, truth-tellers, drunks

In fighting disinformation and trolls, silence ‘cannot be an option’ -From Wikipedia to Facebook, how do we fight back against trolls, ‘fake news’ and historical revisionism?

Journalists, bloggers tackle ‘fake news’, other forms of disinformationSo What Now: Thoughts after Democracy and Disinformation Conference

SC Associate Justice Leonen warns of rise of ‘false messiahs’

Filipinos fight back vs fake news”

‘Chief architects’ of fake news in PHL come from PR, ad industry —study

This will be updated with links from other media agencies who covered the conference

The post Quotable quotes from the Democracy & Disinformation Conference #FightDisinfo appeared first on .

To curb the spread of disinformation or fake news, I  do my share as a blogger by writing articles of national interest and those that educate the users of social media platforms on its judicious use .

READ: How to stop the spread of fake news. is legislation the proper remedy?

Nothing makes my online life more relevant than using social media for social good and maximizing personal and collective social media capital for social change.  Being responsible. Being vocal. Taking a stand on issues. Exposing corruption and incompetence. Making politics work for the country, especially the voiceless, poor and marginalized. And using social media to help achieve these. Blogging for social good is just one of the many ways to effectively use social media. At the recent “Democracy and Disinformation” Conference held last February 12-13, BlogWatch had the opportunity to organize a workshop for some of the participants. I conducted the “Blogging for Social Good” while Jane Uymatiao showed how citizen engagement worked.

Citizen advocates

BlogWatch began in November 2009 as a group of independent-minded bloggers and social media users helping with voter education. It has since evolved into a nonpartisan group of citizen advocates who engage government and the private sector, online and offline, for social good. In a capsule, this is who we are.

• Our online voice was how we could push for reforms, effect social change, achieve social good.
• It meant taking a stand, often fighting for a certain view on an issue, engaging with lawmakers, movers and shakers, and government agencies.
• When you take a stand, you advocate. That was the word we had been looking for, our real identity — as ‘citizen advocates’!
• Our individual advocacies include education, support for health issues, mass transport, labor, women’s agenda, human rights, disaster preparedness, environment, education, and livelihood to bridging the digital divide.

We use the power of collaboration to work with fellow advocates, media organizations or even the government ,  to develop and promote common principles to different models of approaching the goals of an advocacy.

The 8 C-crets to responsible blogging and engagement

My 12 years experience as a blogger and nine years as citizen advocate allows me to share some tips that you might be able to use.

To simplify the tips, I categorized them into eight C’s so it is easier to remember.

1. Create – What is your  goal? Do you need a hashtag ? Do you need to organize a content plan or calendar? Will it be photos , blog post , or video?Message matters.Sometimes it can make your message more powerful if you can connect it to why the issue is important to you. One example is breast feeding. It is important to me because our children need the best nutrition early on. Around 16,000 babies die each year because they were not breastfed. I use the hashtag #BreastFeedingPH to push the message that “Breastfeeding is still best for babies” and to make sure that no milk formula company undermines breastfeeding.
2. Crowdsource– Oftentimes, I get topic ideas from my community. Create a poll to get a pulse of the sentiments of your readers.  You can also crowdsource for hashtag ideas
3. Curate– When you review content from a variety of sources, gather links to those sources, share descriptions of that content, add your own commentary to that content, and publish all of those pieces in a single location, you’re curating content. I curate content from multiple sources that I trust . If I find it inaccurate , I call out the media organization.  I usually put quotes in One Note as it organizes my notes into topics.
4. Call to Action– Since you have a goal, ask what Call-to-Action can your readers do? Do they need to sign up, retweet, join a project or event or share your blog post. Call to action can either be online or offline activities. Citizen advocates don’t want to just take action – they want to feel part of a community that create change. Not everyone is born to be an organizer or want to participate in all activities in a community.
5. Check-  Review your content.   Verify your sources and the facts surrounding it. Check for Libel. For an imputation then to be libelous, the following requisites must concur: (a) it must be defamatory; (b) it must be malicious; (c) it must be given publicity; and (d) the victim must be identifiable.
6. Correct– Publish corrections as prominently as the original mistake was published. BlogWatch has a Corrections Policy which among others are publishing corrections at least as prominently as the original mistake was published and to make corrections quickly and candidly.
7. Collaborate– Tap like minded individuals or groups to share information or achieve the goal .  We reach out to fellow advocates who are passionate about the same issue was we are. Examples of such collaboration include the Reproductive Health (RH Bill) campaign,  our #EpalWatch campaign, Anti-Cybercrime law. Online advocacy should integrate with offline. They go together. Meetings with stakeholders and legislators are needed to push the agenda of an advocacy.

   In our #epalwatch project, a meeting with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) paved the way for the guidelines on common areas for posters and the size of banners and tarpulins. No man is an island applies as well to a community. One needs to collaborate and amplify personal connections. Don’t just broadcast. Take action. Provide content to match the media like twitter, facebook , instagram, tumblr, The positive gains of #epalwatch was realized because of the collaboration with No More Epal Facebook group , Juana Change and Carlos Celdran.

8. Courtesy– Sometimes we don’t agree on certain issues but we try not to argue online.  We agree to disagree.  If you disagree with a friend, talk in private or take it offline. Also, trolls can be so annoying so when they go low, go high. Don’t go to their gutter level.

Blog Watch will continue to be a witness, a participant and a driving force in the evolution of a culture of powerful citizens’ advocacy as we continue to bridge the digital divide.

The future of the Philippines depends on what we, citizens can do today.

Do you want to blog to drive social change for good?

The post Blogging for social good: 8 tips to responsible blogging and engagement appeared first on .

Time identified “The Women of #BabaeAko” as the 25 most influential people on the internet. The contenders were evaluated by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.  I am so proud to be part of this movement. Nothing makes my online life more relevant than using social media for  good and maximizing personal and collective social media capital for social change.

The contenders of Time’s most influential people were evaluated by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news. The local news first picked it up.

Bandila, May 22, 2018

Then this was followed a few days later by Al Jazeera’s   “#BabaeAko: Philippines’ Duterte ‘intimidated by strong women’; and another feature using their livestreaming #BabaeAko: Is Duterte’s behaviour sexist or misunderstood?.

#BabaeAko on Al Jazeera Stream, June 7, 2018

BBC World followed suit.

#BabaeAko on BBC World, June 6, 2018

And even in French news.

Arte, June 18, 2018

So why was #BabaeAko influential in driving news?

1. Message matters

Sometimes it can make your message more powerful if you can connect it to why the issue is important to you. #BabaeAko touches every daughter, her mother, her sister, and her lola. Women are endangered in an environment where a President , the leader of the nation shouts out sexist remarks.  Such rude rhetoric can have a major impact on a woman’s thinking, stress, and self-esteem. It hits the core of every woman.

I am a mother of two strong women , a blogger and a Filipino. I condemn Duterte and other people in government who issue sexist remarks and exhibit misogynistic behaviors.

My girls , our women and I deserve better. Watch me fight back ! #BabaeAko

— Noemi L. Dado (@momblogger) May 25, 2018

2 . Organizing a community

A loose network of women’s groups and individual activists could no longer take Duterte’s misogynistic statements sitting down so they launched a social media campaign on Sunday night, May 20, to fight back against the Philippine president whom they describe as a misogynist leader. Using the hashtag #BabaeAko (I am a woman), Filipino women took to social media to fight the president’s sexist and misogynistic behavior.

READ: 30 examples of Duterte’s sexist remarks #BabaeAko

The women in these groups have their own respective sphere of influence in a community. Then there are citizen advocateswho don’t want to just take action – they want to feel part of a community that create change. Not everyone is born to be an organizer or want to participate in all activities in a community. It is important to maintain a core group to set a single, focused goal to provide direction, motivation and operational guidance. So when one shares the hashtag, there are communities who disseminate the campaign to other communities. Everyone did their share to amplify the message. A community of women calling themselves “Enough Women” gathered a list of signatories and took a stand against Presidential misogyny. I decided to write a blog post 30 examples of Duterte’s sexist remarks #BabaeAko

3. Online + Offline

Online advocacy should integrate with offline. They go together. Meetings with stakeholders and other women leaders are needed to push the agenda of an advocacy.  The campaign should not just be online.  Filipino women  marched from Luneta Park to Liwasang Bonifacio on Independence Day and made a statement against misogyny and sexism through the tarpaulin artworks showcasing the plight of women under Duterte’s presidency.

4. Take social a spin

Az a nakatulog, late na naman ako sa wave pero—#BabaeAko

(Gumawa rin ng sarili: Babae Ako. Pangalan. Mensahe. Lalaban Ako) pic.twitter.com/bFQPeMR6E6

— Charm (@CharmLlares) May 20, 2018

No man is an island applies as well to a community. One needs to collaborate and amplify personal connections. Don’t just broadcast. Take action. Provide content to match the media like twitter, facebook and instagram. The #BabaeAko videos begin with a quick introduction of the Filipina authoring the post, followed by a short description of herself and a message to President Duterte. All videos ended with a brave declaration: “Lalaban ako.” (I will fight back)

Social media to drive Social Change

Social media tools are a central component of almost any movement and it is bound to change over the years. The most-used social media advocacy tools include blogs, portals, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram email, texts and chat groups (messenger, whatsapp, viber, telegram, signal).  Getting media to notice a campaign starts on twitter. Now you know how it started.

While hundreds of social media applications exist, one should start spending time and resources where your supporters are most likely to be. One then needs to integrate efforts for better overall results.

There are just four skills to remember . The Dragonfly Effect best explains as follows:

1. Focus – hatch a goal that will make an impact

2. Grab Attention – stick out in an overcrowded, over-messaged, noisy world

3. Engage – make people connect with your goal

4. Take Action – empower others, enable them, and cultivate a movement

Using social media as a tool for advocacy works because of “low (or no) hard costs for set-up; potentially wide reach; quick/instantaneous sharing of messages; new opportunities to listen, engage, and monitor your progress.”

Social media users have done it before and we must continue to do it over and over again not just because we are capable of it, but because we must.

The post So why was Babae Ako influential in driving news? appeared first on .

I am republishing my article that was published at the Manila Times on July 22, 2018 because of anonymous weather alerts getting the rounds of private messages. As Inday Varona said in her Facebook post said, “Anything with a very detailed weather listing (time, included; may sea and air travel cancellations pa!), way ahead of entrance to Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), is most likely false. Typhoon path not even all that clear and could shift.?

Let’s get into a habit of sharing ONLY vetted information. Warnings are good. Necessary. But the kind of alarmist stuff doing the PM rounds doesn’t help.”

—–

Did you know the Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year? Our country is vulnerable to natural disasters and in emergency situations, it is important to use all available channels of communications such as social media, print, radio, and TV broadcasting, two-way radio systems, and SMS.  Based on a WeAreSocial 2018 Global Digital suite of reports, there are 67 million Philippine internet users with 62 million active social media users. Let’s continue to use our smartphones and internet connection in our disaster preparedness. Social media can provide us with emergency updates before any natural disaster hits our country and when power interruption cuts us off from monitoring.

Monitor DOST PAGASA and the Color Coded Warnings

Follow the Official Facebook account of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA-DOST) https://www.facebook.com/PAGASA.DOST.GOV.PH/ and its twitter account @dost_pagasa. Though their bulletins can be quite technical, just memorize the color-coded rainfall advisories composed of three colors: Yellow, Orange and Red. The darker the color is, the more severe it gets.

To give you a perspective, Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) during a six-hour period dumped 347.5? mm of rainfall which is roughly 58 mm/hour . The Red warning is rainfall of more than 30 mm within an hour (8 gallons per square meter/hour) and is expected to continue in the next two hours. Continuous rainfall of more than 65mm for 3 hours also prompts Pagasa to give this advisory. When Pagasa gives the red advisory, it means that severe flooding in low-lying areas is expected and residents should start evacuating.

Also follow Japan Meteorological Agency  (JMA) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

Enable to receive “Extreme Alerts” in your smartphone

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or NDRRMC is able to send emergency alert and warning messages to the public with the help of the National Telecommunication Companies (NTC). Go to your settings under “Cellphone broadcasts” to enable the receive “extreme alerts” and “severe alerts”. Cell Broadcast/Cell Information (CB) is designed for simultaneous delivery to multiple users in a specified area.

Whereas SMS messages are sent point-to-point, Cell Broadcast messages are sent point-to-area.

Monitor Twitter or Facebook accounts of your local government units (LGU)

Some cities or towns have an active social media presence. I discovered this while traveling during a typhoon from Manila to Baguio and I was trying to find out why we were stuck in traffic for two hours in Marcos Highway. Using the search bar of Twitter, I was able to locate through key words, the @PIA_Cordillera @PNPBenguet @PNPcordillera who tweeted updates of road conditions.

Monitor calamity-specific hashtags

I participated in a meeting for a public and private sector online coordination during Typhoon Ruby in 2014 .

Organized by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, we agreed on unified hashtags for easier dissemination of information and coordination. Twitter is the number one social network to monitor hashtags . A hashtag allows grouping of similarly tagged messages, and also allows an electronic search to return all messages that contain it.

For natural calamities, these are the hashtags:

a. For typhoons, tropical storms, and tropical depressions inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility: + PH (e.g., #HenryPH, #IndayPH, #YolandaPH)

b. For earthquakes and tsunamis: #QuakePH and #TsunamiPH, respectively

c. For volcanic activities/eruptions: + PH (e.g., #MayonPH, #TaalPH)

The following hashtags are used for updates in preparation for a natural disaster:

a. #walangpasok — For announcements of class and work suspensions.

b. #FloodPH — For reporting flooded areas, for the information of other social media users as well as government agencies.

In addition to the calamity-specific hashtag, the following hashtags are used in response to a natural di saster:

a. #RescuePH — used when someone is in need of rescuing or has knowledge of someone in need of rescuing.

b. #ReliefPH — used by social media users themselves in need of, or have information on individuals and/or communities in need of relief goods and services. The hashtag is also used as a catch-all for updates on relief aid provided.

Download weather apps

Lives have been lost due to storm flooding because people didn’t know what path to take to safety or even if their area would be hit by a flood-causing downpour. Useful weather apps are ARKO PH, NOAH PH, and Weather Philippines.

The University of the Philippines Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (UP NOAH) developed the NOAH PH app together with ARKO (the mobile app for flood, storm surge, and landslide hazard maps). The NOAH app features a user-friendly interface that allows you to view near real time weather information, which can help prevent and mitigate disasters. Arko allows you to check on how flooding and/or rainfall is in other areas.

Weather Philippines gives an overview of your selected locations’ weather information. Using the NOAH and ARKO app can be challenging at first but the hazard maps are worth studying to understand the risks in your area, especially when you or your loved ones are travelling . You can also check the website noah.up.edu.ph .

It is not a matter of getting calamity updates.

In the initial hours of a disaster, we should not expect the disaster agencies, rescue teams, and law enforcers to be our first responders because it is possible that many of them will themselves be affected. A family needs to have a preparedness plan during emergencies and a survival kit, which can just be a huge backpack or a large plastic pail with the basics that you need like food, water, medicines and packing in a transistor radio, power bank, flashlights, extra batteries, some clothes, and blankets. Preparedness begins at home and we must plan to help ourselves to minimize the impact in our household.

The post Five ways to use social media and technology for disaster preparedness appeared first on .

I mentioned in my previous post that aside from being alert to weather bulletins, a family needs to have a preparedness plan during emergencies and a survival kit, which can just be a huge backpack or a large plastic pail with the basics that you need like food, water, medicines and packing in a transistor radio, power bank, flashlights, extra batteries, some clothes, and blankets. Preparedness begins at home and we must plan to help ourselves to minimize the impact in our household.

READ: Five ways to use social media and technology for disaster preparedness 

Follow the Official Facebook account of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA-DOST)https://www.facebook.com/PAGASA.DOST.GOV.PH/ and its twitter account @dost_pagasa. Though their bulletins can be quite technical, just memorize the color-coded rainfall advisories composed of three colors: Yellow, Orange and Red. The darker the color is, the more severe it gets. Also follow Japan Meteorological Agency  (JMA) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

Here is an emergency preparedness plan done by the Office of Civil Defense

Prepare a GO BAG

When there is an impending danger, we need to leave our homes and evacuate to safer areas, To  prepare for these emergencies, we should have a ready Go Bag that we can bring along.

Remember these three guidelines

1. The Go Bag should be replenished and checked every three months
2. The Go Bag should be stored properly where it can be easily accessed in case of an emergency
3. Coordinate with leaders on community evacuation plan. Decide with the family on where to meet in case there is a need to evacuate

Contents of a Go Bag

The contents of the Go bag  are items needed by the family to survie

1. Important documents in water proof container
2. Radio with fresh and extra batteries
3. First aid kit remedies for fever, LBM, minor wounds and pain, and maintenance medications
4. Spare cash including coins
5. Items for special needs of young and older members of the family, including persons with disabilities
6. Easy to serve, ready to eat food enough for three days
7. Drinking water in sealed container good for three days
8. Mobile phones, power banks, chargers
9. Clothing, raincoat, boots and sanitary napkin
10. Sleeping bags or mats, and blankets
11. Ropes, old newspapers, and ecobags made of strong materials

What to do before the Tropical Cyclone

A tropical cyclone is an extreme weather condition characterized by large scale circulation of strong winds, low atmospheric pressure and heavy rains. It can cause flooding, storm surge, landslides and flash floods.

Before a tropical Cyclone

1. Monitor the news for weather updates,warnings and advisories
2. Know the early warning and evacuation plan of the community
3. Check the integrity of your houses and repair weak parts
4. Prepare your family’s GO BAG containing items needed for survival
5. Put livestock and pets in safe area or designated evacuation site for animals
6. When notified, immediately go to the designated evacuation center

During a tropical cyclone

1. Stay calm, stay indoors and tune in to the latest news and updates
2. Turn off main electrical switch and water valve
3. Use flashlight and emergency lamp. Be cautious in using candles and gas lamps
4. Stay away from glass windows.

After a tropical cyclone

1. Wait for authorities to declare that it is safe to return home
2. Stay away from damaged trees, fallen structures and power lines
3. Do not go sightseeing as you may hinder the work of emergency services
4. Be cautious in checking and repairing damaged parts of your houses
5. Check for wet and submerged electrical outlets and appliances before turning on the electricity
6. Throw away water in cans, pots and tires to prevent breeding of mosquitoes

Preparing for Flood

Flood is the rising of water level until it overflows its natural or artificial confines and submerge the surrounding areas

Before the flood

It is important to know the hazards in your area

1. Monitor the news for weather updates , warnings and advisories
2. Know the flood early warning and evacuation plan of the community
3. Participate in community flood preparedness actions and drills
4. Secure your home. Move essential furniture and items to the upper floor
5. Before evacuating, turn off all main switches of electricity, water and LPG tanks
6. Put livestock and pets in a safe area or designated evacuation sites for animals
7. When order is received, immediately evacuate to higher and safer grounds

During the flood

Remember to stay on higher grounds

1. Stay indoors and tune in to the latest news and updates
2. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing on floodwaters
3. Do not go swimming or boating in swollen rivers
4. Do not cross streams when water level is already above the knee
5. Do not walk or drive through flooded areas

After the flood

Continue to stay alert and  keep safe

1. Leave the evacuation area only when authorities say it is safe to return home
2. Report fallen trees and posts to proper authorities
3. Check for wet or submerged electrical outlets and appliances before turning on the electricity
4. Check your house for possible damages and repair as  necessary
5. Make sure the food and water for drinking are not contaminated by flood water
6. Throw away water in cans, pots and tires to prevent breeding of mosquitoes

Storm surge

A storm surge is an abnormal rise of water due to a tropical cyclone

Here are ways you can prepare before, during and after a storm surge

Before a storm surge

Know the hazards in your area

1. Know if your area has potential threat of storm surge
2.  Always monitor the weather and watch out for advisories and warnings
3. Know the location of the evacuation site and the fastest and safest way to go there
4. Secure your home. Move essential furniture and items to upper floors
5. Prepare your family’s Go Bag containing items needed for surivial
6. Before evacuating, turn off all main switches of electricity, water and LPG tanks
7. When called, immediately evacuate to higher and safer grounds.

During a storm surge

1. Stay indoors and tune in to the latest news and updates
2. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing on floodwaters

After a storm surge

1. Leave the evacuation area only when authorities say it is safe
2. Check for missing persons and report it to authorities
3. Bring the injured to the nearest hospital
4. Report fallen trees and  electric posts to proper authorities
5. Check your house for possible damages and repair as  necessary
6. Make sure the food and water for drinking are not contaminated by flood water

The post Emergency Preparedness: The Go bag, Tropical Cyclone, Storm surge and Floods appeared first on .

First published at Sunday Times & IT on December 30, 2018

I like looking back at the past, on my work as a columnist, blogger and advocate. The challenge is going through what needs improvement in 2018. It encourages me to plan goals for 2019. While most call it their New Year’s Resolutions, I prefer to call it, New Year Goals. These goals are something I need to delve within and figure what I want to take place in my life next year. Goals give our life direction. While I have personal goals, I likewise have a wish list for the Filipino social media users and practitioners that requires goal setting. Here is my wish list.

1.     Create more content. Everyone needs to be truth-tellers.

The time for truth is always now. In this age of misinformation, disinformation and viral deception, a call for more writers is needed. More than fact-checking, we call for more truth tellers. Lies travel faster than the truth. When you don’t call out the lies, you are contributing to the disinformation. By not speaking up, you are allowing the lie to spread.

It is problematic to keep the lies alive though. “An image … becomes all the more interesting with our every effort to debunk it,” the historian Daniel Boorstin wrote in 1961 of America’s burgeoning media culture. It is imperative that bloggers learn to write more than ever now so these lies don’t take center stage. Write in long form content and share it on your social networks. A social media user at a recent iBlog Conference asked but what is the truth? One must learn to write well. Learn the techniques in writing. On BlogWatch (blogwatch. tv), you can read more on “The 8 C-crets to responsible blogging and engagement”. Eight tips to responsible blogging to be credible truth tellers include: Create, CrowdSource, Curate, Call to action, Check (accuracy), Correct, Collaborate and Courtesy.

 Crafting more content applies to brands, too. Post relevant stories that offer your potential customers with a reason to engage with you on your social media platforms. Content provides your potential buyers with information to make informed decisions.

 2.     Go beyond Facebook for long form content

Facebook is convenient as it helps us connect to friends and loved ones. The problem with Facebook is they can remove your content for violating community standards. For instance, a teacher exposed the acts of a person in authority. He was not promoting it but called attention to the abuse. Facebook removed the post for violating the policies on bullying. How did Facebook decide the violation is bullying? Context is important. Bullying is when a powerful one harasses and intimidates someone weaker. In the teacher’s case, it was the policeman who bullied and harassed them. They were only resisting and exposing them for their acts. It is time to replace or concentrate on personal websites or blogs instead of Facebook as the main platform.

 Build your own brand and host your own cornerstone (big picture, complex idea) content pieces.  One can share smaller pieces of the long-form content to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or even Instagram. When your audience wants to read more, the main post gives details. An example is creating an infographic or short video clip on your cornerstone content for the twitter user. A mix of content types and lengths to share on social media is a strategy one can use for 2019.

3. When crafting your social media strategy and choosing the right channels, please consider blogs.

Yoshke Dimen, a fellow blogger called on digital markerters to collaborate with bloggers in 2016. It holds true for 2019 and more years to come.  Over the past years, most digital marketers only involve our social media accounts — mostly Instagram and Facebook — to create hype.  They do not consider blog posts. “Hype is good, but also consider SHELF LIFE”, says Yoshke. You create hype for your product through an Instagram hashtag or Twitter trend. Digital marketers want to generate interest, get people’s attention, get them talking. Your audience will still need more information, something that short-form content can’t deliver.  They will google it and chances are, they will end up in the blogosphere. Guess who’s not in it — YOU. Instagram and Facebook posts have a lifespan of three days if you’re lucky. If you pick the wrong influencers, it is just a matter of hours. Blog posts continue to generate traffic even after the hype is over. Blogs are highly searchable and great for sustaining campaigns. Social media come and go, but blogs will be here for a long time.

4.     Read beyond a compelling headline.

Here is an interesting statistic I learned from CopyBlogger. “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.” This is dangerous if a headline strikes you as so outrageous that you want to tell your buddies about it. When this happens, take a quick pause. It might well be fake. You can do your homework by inspecting the source of the news story. Is it a credible media organization? If you see something that looks not real, not credible, be skeptical of it.  Website gets increased traffic through click-bait headlines. These websites offer low-quality content in a pursuit to maximize earnings. Conduct further research and find out if it’s real or not.

 The year 2019 looms before us like another chapter in a book just waiting to be written. You can help write that story.  This quote credited to Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” says it all. 

The post A social media wish list for 2019 appeared first on .

This was first published on Sunday Business & IT on January 6, 2019. Living Life well online

2018 was the year for data breaches which compromised the personal information of millions of individuals around the world. I am one of the 1.175 million Filipinos and among 87 million users worldwide whose data Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, shared to other third parties. Facebook has not acted on the complaint I filed in May 2018 at the National Privacy Commission (NPC). Cathay Pacific Airways is the airline I use for my trips overseas and they reported a data breach committed in March that affected 9.4 million travelers and 102,209 Filipinos. British Airways announced a data breach that impacted information from 380,000 reservations made between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5, 2018. Marriott announced that 500 million travelers who reserved at a Starwood hotel since 2014 had their data compromised. Quora announced a breach in its platform. Google discovered a bug in Google+ exposing 500,000 users’ data for about three years. Let’s not forget the breach affecting 50 million Facebook accounts because of the tokens, a system used by third-party platforms such as Spotify.

The data breaches have implications for 2019. Let’s look at the forecasts of two cyber security and defense companies: Kaperksy Lab and Trend Micro Inc.

In Kaspersky Lab’s cyberthreat predictions for 2019, one of the top forecasts includes attacks on mobile banking for business users and attacks on small companies that give specialized financial services to larger players. The threats of new local groups attacking financial institutions in Southeast Asia, Indo-Pakistan region and Central Europe looms. In terms of threats to ordinary users and stores, those who use cards without chips and do not use a two-factor authorization of transactions will be most at risk.

Security predictions from Trend Micro’s “Mapping the Future” classified them to the primary areas. These are consumers, enterprises, governments, security industry, industrial control systems, cloud infrastructure and smart homes. Trend Micro added that 2019 would be a significant year for political developments covering the finalization of Brexit and landmark elections held in several countries. The Philippines is holding its midterm elections on May so let’s continue to be mindful of our cybersecurity. These technological and sociopolitical changes will have a direct impact on security issues in 2019 but let’s focus on the consumer — YOU.

1. Cases of phishing will increase in 2019.

Trend Micro predicts social engineering through phishing attempts not only in email but also in SMS and messaging accounts. Aside from targeting the usual online banking credentials, cybercriminals will go after accounts used for cloud storage and other cloud services. New types of attacks like SIM-jacking might happen. In SIM-jacking, criminals impersonate a target and convince a telecom carrier’s tech support staff to port a “lost” SIM card to one they already own. This action takes control of a target’s online presence, often associated with one’s mobile phone number.

2. Attacks abusing chatbots will become rampant in 2019.Advertisements

Attackers will design chatbots that can hold an introductory conversation with a target to establish a convincing conversation that establishes the groundwork for sending over a phishing link or getting personal information. These attackers will delve into an extensive scope of possible payloads, including manipulation of orders, installation of a remote access trojan (RAT) in the target’s computer, or even extortion.

3. Cybercriminals will compromise famous YouTubers and other “online-famous” personalities’ social media accounts.

Cybercriminals will work on taking over these accounts through targeted phishing attacks. The followers’ computers may be infected by infostealers or made to join campaigns for distributed denial of service (DDoS) or cryptocurrency mining. They may turn their accounts into troll ones.

4. A surge in fraudulent transactions using credentials taken by cybercriminals from data breaches.

Cybercriminals will use these accounts to register trolls on social media for cyberpropaganda, manipulate consumer portals by posting fake reviews, or add fake votes to community-based polls. The possible applications are endless.

5. Sextortion cases will rise.

In the Philippines, sextortion cases in Facebook has been taking place. It is best to contact the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime division.

We must stay safe in 2019. Continue to distinguish truth from the untruth. Social engineering relies on the same human weaknesses. Spreading awareness on the disinformation and the misinformation ecosystem will make the public more resistant to opinion manipulation or confirmation bias. We need the same level of critical thinking for social media consumption in checking whether an email or a phone call is coming from a trusted source. Cybersecurity awareness training in schools and for the public is a must. I have talked about digital privacy and security in my past column. Now is the time to change your passwords. Use unique passwords for different accounts. Take advantage of multifactor authentication features, or use a password manager tool to secure store credentials. Trend Micro recommends that one must secure our consumer devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones from threats of ransomware, dangerous websites, and identity thieves. Make sure that complete protection is available through anti-malware solutions. Take advantage of the tools and technologies that empower us to fight against cybercriminals and other emerging threat actors.

The internet and social media serve as tools for good but we must be aware on minimizing risks and maximizing benefits.

The post Possible security issues faced by the consumer in 2019 appeared first on .

First published on February 10, 2019 at Sunday Business and IT 

Filipinos are using the internet 10 hours a day. The global average is at two hours and 16 minutes. Brazil comes in second with nine hours and 29 minutes while Thailand is third at nine hours and eleven minutes.  Digital growth shows no sign of slowing down. We continue to embrace the internet and social media despite controversy around misinformation, disinformation, privacy, hacking, and other negative aspects of online life. 45% of the world’s population are now social media users. This growth fuels social media use. That’s 3.5 billion people. According to the 2019 Global Digital Report, conducted by Hootsuite and We Are Social, the Philippines ranks number one in spending the most time on social media at four hours and 12 minutes. The time spent on the internet was 10 hours and two minutes a day. This is an increase from last year’s nine hours and 29 minutes daily.

The key stats in the Philippines are:

–        76 million Filipinos with a median age of 25 years old are active social media users which is 71% penetration. The same figure applies to internet users. This is a 13% increase from January 2018 to January 2019.

–  The number of   Internet users in the Philippines varies: Internet World Stats (67 million); International Telecommunication Union (59.56 million); World Bank (59.56 million); CIA World Factbook (56.96 million)

–        Advertising audience in Facebook is 75 million

–        Mobile social media users are at 72 million or 67% penetration. The global average is 42%.

–        90% of internet users are engaged with or contributed to social media

–        Fixed internet speed grew from 15.19 Mbps average to 19.03 Mbps. The global average is 54.33 Mbps.

–        Mobile speed increased from 13.45 Mbps to 15.05 Mbps. Global average is 25.08 Mbps.

–        Average number of social media accounts per internet user is 10.4. Top social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, LinkedIn, Viber, Pinterest, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Reddit, WeChat, Tumblr, Twitch and Line.

–        Over 50% of the 76 million Filipino internet users, use mobile messengers, watch videos on mobile, play games on mobile, use mobile banking and map services.

–        E-commerce is gaining ground with 70% of internet users purchasing a product or service online whether laptop or through a mobile device.

The GlobalWebIndex’s Social Media Flagship report provides more insights on the world of social media. They included the Philippines in the Third Quarter 2018 wave of research across 44 countries, which had a global sample size of 113,932. Even though Facebook is still the dominant social platform in terms of membership, the former falls behind YouTube in terms of visitors per week.

Staying up-to-date with current events and keeping in touch with friends are the most mentioned reason (40%) for using social media. It is no wonder that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) set new rules for social media posts and online ads during the campaign period for the May 13, 2019, national and local elections. Section 6 of Comelec Resolution 10488 says lawful election propaganda will now include “social media posts, whether original or reposted from some source, which may either be incidental to the poster’s advocacies of social issues or which may have, for its primary purpose, the endorsement of a candidate only”.   Paid influencers, supporters and even “trolls” must submit reports on payments for services like creating online posts whether for or against a candidate. Majority of the voting population is online getting campaign materials from websites and social media platforms. “It’s not about content itself. We don’t have concerns over what is in the post, but the cost of the material posted,” says Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

With the upsurge in social media users, netizens must be discerning.  Every social media user needs to identify their confirmation bias, so one is not easily manipulated by misinformation or disinformation.  Facebook removed 220 pages, 73 accounts, and 29 Instagram accounts because of “inauthentic behavior” in its platform.  In October 2018, Facebook removed 95 pages and 35 accounts. Many sleeper accounts with suspicious activity is increasing after the takedown of these accounts by Facebook. Content of sleeper accounts have “hugot”, religious, meme, quotations and social videos. Out of the blue, their timeline contains posts outside their usual niche such as propaganda memes or campaign materials. Some misinformation is also being distributed in closed or ephemeral spaces, like Facebook Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp groups, SnapChat, or Instagram Stories.

The best approach to verifying information is to conduct your own research, ask advice from trusted sources, and then make up your own mind. Review the tips found in my December 2, 2018 column on “Misinformation, a word of self-reflection”. If most Filipinos spend 10 hours daily on the internet, each one of us can take a few minutes doing our own research. Hopefully, more Filipinos will use research time out of the 4 hours and 12 minutes on social media. Let’s show the world that time spent online and on social media is not wasted in the misinformation ecosystem.

You can download the Global Web Index 2019 digital trends here https://www.globalwebindex.com/reports/trends-19 and the Global Digital  2019 overview https://wearesocial.com/global-digital-report-2019

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The first thing I do when I wake up is to go through my Twitter feed for current events or engage with my followers. Not everyone is on twitter though. Facebook is still the number one social media platform in the Philippines. Based on the “2019 WeAreSocial” survey, 97 percent of internet users use Facebook followed by Youtube (96 percent), Messenger (89 percent), Instagram (64 percent) and Twitter (54 percent). While Facebook does not generate original news content, it has grown into an important medium for news. Social media’s influence on political participation such as voting, advocacy or self-expression remains unclear but there are studies. Three women in the academe conducted research on young Filipinos below 45 years old. Clarissa C. David, Ma. Rosel S. San Pascual and Ma. Eliza S. Torres tested five hypotheses using data collected from an online survey of 978 Filipinos from Feb. 1 to March 31, 2016. The study examined the “link between reliance on Facebook for news, political knowledge and political engagement in the Philippines” by testing five hypotheses using data gathered from the online survey.

Reliance as used by the researchers means that if one does not receive news stories through the Facebook platform, no alternate source would be available. And the result is low knowledge of politics. The findings of the study interest me because I post a lot of news and political commentaries. My feed includes posts from friends with diverse political views but not as much as my twitter feed. Findings “support the hypothesis that those who rely less on social media as a news source exhibit higher levels of perceived knowledge about politics than those who rely more on it for news.” This association holds true even while controlling for news consumption in traditional news channels. Higher levels of interest and engagement among the respondents are associated with following the Facebook pages of political officials or institutions on social media. Respondents with more politically active friends report higher levels of exposure to political content online.

The data did not support two hypotheses: (1) Those who look at themselves as sources of political information during conversations are also more likely to discuss politics with others; and (2) those with more friends on their network who are politically active would have higher levels of knowledge and engagement than those who have fewer politically active friends on Facebook. This was intriguing. I expected exposure to politically active friends on your feed would make one more willing to engage in political action. The study suggests that Facebook may not be an “effective way to mobilize those whose current interest in politics is either null or weak.” The study has its limitations such as its reliance on self-reports on knowledge and reliance on Facebook for news.

Research on “Direct and Differential Effects of the Internet on Political and Civic Engagement” by Michael Xenos, et al. reveals that any effects of online news on political participation depend on traditional factors such as their level of interest in politics from the start. Another study (stumbling upon news on the internet, YonghwanKim, et al.) reinforces this. The exposure to information, even if one is not seeking it, can increase online political participation. Another research (Connecting blog, Twitter and Facebook use with gaps in knowledge and participation, Sung Woo Yoo) confirms the previous studies, that the increased engagement occurs among those already interested in news and politics.

How can we influence the youth to increase their interest in politics? Political information in one’s Facebook feeds can be toxic. Heated debates, nasty comments and trolling create a chilling effect. Some lurkers use closed spaces to discuss these issues. Friends message me to share their opinion about a hot topic on social media. It is unseen forces like harassment that stop a person from being able to comment or engage in a political discussion. Another study (How individual sensitivities to disagreement shape youth political expression on Facebook, Emily Vraga, et al.) shows that those who avoid conflict dislike political posts. Those who enjoy conflict post more political content. This study concluded that “young voters are open to political information on social media only when presented in a civil manner.”

Facebook may not be an effective way to engage in political participation for those who are not interested in politics. Using Messenger and other messaging apps is an alternative, a safer place to engage in political discussion. Twitter is another option because of its quality filter, muted words, and advanced filters that limit lower-quality content from your notifications.

You can download “Reliance on Facebook for news and its influence on political engagement”, published March 19, 2019

First published at Sunday Times & IT, March 31, 2019.

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Adolf Hitler pointed out the principle of the Big Lie: People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough people take it as gospel truth. Educating voters on the effects of negative campaigning and black propaganda have been recurrent themes in BlogWatch voters’ education since 2010.

The phrase “negative campaigning” is often being done during the campaign period. I consider disinformation (fake news) as black propaganda because it is covert and uses false information. Disinformation means “the deliberate creation and sharing of information known to be false”. The purveyors of black propaganda target most of the misinformation and disinformation towards leading candidates in the surveys. The lies and propaganda are out there to create doubt if you are an undecided voter. Another goal is also to suppress voter turnout. Deceptive or exaggerated claims targeting individual candidates even if not in the survey’s “magic 12” is happening, too.

Source : https://firstdraftnews.com/fake-news-complicated/

I find myself busy with voters’ education in collaboration with poll watchdog group Kontra Daya in schools and religious organizations the past few weeks. This time around, BlogWatch role is not just teaching voters on their selection criteria or on the effects of negative campaigning. Many are eager to learn about fact-checking, how to vote in an automated election and selecting a party-list. After each fact-checking session, I encourage a call to action.

READ: A call for more truth tellers — a workshop on blogging and social media as weapons of truth

“More than fact-checking, we need more truth tellers.

Lies travel faster than the truth. When not speaking, you are contributing to the disinformation.

By not speaking up, you are allowing the lie to spread”.

The call to action struck a chord among the participants. Most of them want to go beyond fact-checking. The only effective weapon against the “Big Lie” are truth and reason.

Reason dictates we be discerning in our choice of whom to vote for. Look at the candidates’ platforms, how they respond to issues, their public and (if possible) private demeanor. Fact-checking techniques come in handy here. Try to see behind the mask. Examine their past record and accomplishments. Once you have selected your candidates, promote them online and offline to friends and relatives.

Look beyond survey results. Poll results show the popularity of a candidate at the time of the survey. Let’s not waste our vote by basing it on trending and survey-driven analysis. Be wary of online surveys as some are susceptible to manipulation by bots.

Resist the urge to be cynical. Realize that you are the focus of negative campaigning: The undecided, the critical, the careful voter. The intention is to manipulate you. You don’t have to vote against the mudslinging candidate for him or her to win. They want you not to discourage you not to vote on election day. If you stay away, their dirty tricks would have worked. Don’t give them the satisfaction.

Choose to be kind over being right. There are times your close friends or family members might post fake news. The best recourse is to be patient and tell the truth through a private message. If you think they will become sensitive about being corrected, post the facts in your timeline. There are ways to deal with friends and family who spread fake news or have a different political leaning from us but we must be prudent and preserve relationships

Let’s attempt to distinguish the truth from the lies. Easier said than done, given all the surrounding disinformation. But it would be worthwhile to try, anyway.

Don’t expect to get the truth from politicians.

Keep in mind Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter’s observation that:

“Politicians are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth.”

It’s up to us to break the shackles of ignorance and apathy by educating ourselves and finding out the real score regarding the people we want to vote into office. It won’t be easy but if we persevere, the truth will reveal itself. The real challenge is if we have the courage to face the painful fact we deserve the leaders we end up with.

The next synchronized National and Local Elections (NLE) will happen on May 13, 2019. You can make a difference. Be a truth-teller. Take action. In your area/s of influence, fight for the truth, your principles and values. Don’t let lies and intimidation take over the public sphere where democracy lives.

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Now that the Philippine election day is next week, would social media have an impact in informing, and mobilizing voters? Or convince them to vote for a certain candidate? Social media was a game-changer in the 2016 elections according to the Asia Foundation, where it sparked political discourse never seen in the country’s election history. I now have my doubts about the social media engagement leading to the 2016 election after Facebook’s recent removal of accounts with coordinated inauthentic behavior.

I am looking forward to Facebook’s announcement of its first research grants to over 60 researchers from 30 academic institutions across 11 countries who are studying the impact of social media on democracy and elections. The research initiative began last year after revelations of foreign influence campaigns on the 2016 US election and the Brexit vote in Britain. It selected them under a review process by the Social Science Research Council and the independent group Social Science One.

“To assure the independence of the research and the researchers, Facebook did not play any role in the selection of the individuals or their projects and would have no role in directing the findings or conclusions of the research,” said Facebook executives Elliot Schrage and Chaya Nayak. Researchers would view which websites users linked out to between January 2017 and February 2019, and data from Crowdtangle, a tool used by publishers that shows them how content is being posted on Facebook. The Facebook data sets would include data on total shares from a URL, engagement statistics and fact-checking ratings from third parties.

These research studies would be useful to future elections. One study is on “False News on Facebook during the 2017 Chilean Elections,” which would examine the breadth, sharing and users’ consumption of misinformation on Facebook. Another study aims to investigate the demographic characteristics of users who shared mainstream and hyper-partisan news in Brazil in 2017 and 2018. There is “Understanding Problematic Sharing Behavior on Facebook,” including sharing dubious news and falsehoods. One just needs to visit tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project for the Philippines’ 2019 elections, to see the extent of disinformation.

The Philippines might not be part of the current Facebook research but I am interested to see if “likes,” “most shared,” “most popular” in Facebook impact votes. Does social media popularity convert to actual votes? The April 2019 Nationwide Survey on the May 2019 Senatorial Elections of Pulse Asia shows an awareness level of 94 percent and above brings a Senate candidate closer to the magic 12. An awareness of 99 percent is not an assurance that respondents would vote for this Senate candidate yet a 96 percent awareness brought one candidate within the Top 12.

Speaking of awareness, the listening tool (https://influencers.listen.ph/phelections2019) of fellow blogger Anton Sheker provides Facebook insights. Together with my BlogWatch colleague, we monitor the stats for our internal use. The most popular, most viewed, fastest growing and most liked in the period of March 25- March 31, 2019 is Senate candidate Doc Willie Ong.

The listen.ph tool also shows Doc Ong is the most engaging and has the most shared posts. He also has the highest number of followers on Instagram. However, in the latest Pulse Asia survey, his awareness level is only at 57 percent. The Facebook stats of Doc Ong did not convert to offline awareness or some of the respondents have no access to the internet?

READ: Social media star admits tough time in Senate race

While raising awareness is important, increasing conversion rates is the next step. This means influencing a friend or family member to vote for a candidate. Word-of-mouth (WOM), is a source of information. When social media was not around, voters used WOM to decide based on opinions from their inner circle. Voters need accurate information on which to base their decisions. We must continue to find the truth and expose the lies that confronts us in our social media platforms. The impact of social media on the Philippine elections then relies on a call to action. One action is to influence five or more people who would influence five other people to vote your list of candidates. Tell personal stories of the candidates and not just their achievements. I observed on my social media posts that friends are asking who to vote for. One need not wait for these questions to appear on your messenger or on your friend’s wall post. Only eight days left before the elections. Let’s make each day count by raising awareness and convincing friends and family that separation and balance of powers is vital for a democratic government.

First published at Sunday Business & IT on May 5, 2019.

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Several pleasant surprises and upsets happened a few hours after voting ended on May 13, 2019. While awaiting in frustration for the media report from the transparency server of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), I noticed the hashtag #ibaNaman trending on twitter at around 8 pm. Early results in the local level left many happy because these were unexpected, given the perceived continuing power of the incumbents.

Joseph Estrada lost the mayoral in Manila to Isko Moreno. Francis Zamora took the San Juan mayoralty and defeated Janelle Ejercito, daughter of Jinggoy Estrada and granddaughter of Joseph Estrada. Abby Binay won over her brother Junjun Binay in the Makati mayoral race. Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao defeated another member of the Ecleo political clan, in the race for governor. But Mayor Bobby Eusebio losing in Pasig to Vico Sotto hits close to home. Why is there a shift in voter preference from the old, experienced hands to the newer and still willing-to-be-further-tested local executives?

I can only speak for my city. I wanted a change of leadership.

As a Pasigueño, I was oblivious of Sotto serving as councilor. I first learned of his candidacy on my Twitter feed. Sotto believed Pasig residents were looking for change. He talked about the Eusebio family sitting for close to three decades in Pasig City. The blue and yellow themed barangay halls or public spaces are a stark reminder of their stronghold. A tweet read “Time for new blood without the E scarlet letter, after 27 years.” As one of the co-founders of #epalwatch, being epal (a slang for “mapapel,” a Filipino term for attention grabbers) is a subtle way of campaigning very early on for elections. It was like they were campaigning for the last 27 years. If one is epal before Comelec’s mandated campaign period, then loopholes in the system are being used.

The impact of local politics is more personal and relevant to the day-to-day concerns of voters. The desire for something new is more palpable. He took the words right off my mouth, that people were not just looking for another mayor but a new style, without fear or utang na loob (indebtedness). A tricycle driver narrated the abuse of the blue kotong (bribery and extortion) boys requiring as much as P800 for a traffic violation. My helper noticed biko (sweet rice cake) disappeared from the public market as soon as plans of Vico Sotto were clear. Why do we need a budget of P100 million for an elevated walkway?

I had initial doubts. The Eusebio name is an established dynasty but what if I was enabling a new one? Sotto is the nephew of Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 3rd, and cousin to Quezon City vice mayor-elect Gian Sotto. Before he ran for office, he mentioned on Twitter he was qualified and not because of his family name. “Civil society makes you see a different perspective,” he said in an interview three years ago. This is the perspective that led to the creation of his platform: people’s participation. I believed social media interconnectivity not only broke down bureaucratic borders but also set the stage for increased citizen engagement.

It was one reason I asked him on twitter “Dear @VicoSotto if you win, can Pasig residents engage with you here on Twitter? Or will you have channels of citizen engagement?”

Sotto replied, that it is “difficult for me to keep track of mentions/conversations here. Instead, let’s fix online and physical feedback mechanisms. Including a 24-hour manned Facebook page (Public Information Office) that must reply within a given time period.”

Once convinced he was my candidate, I campaigned for him in my neighborhood and on private messaging apps. Tarpaulins of the two Eusebios running for Mayor and Congress flooded almost every house. It felt intimidating. I got lucky to take home a few tarpaulins when I knocked on a neighbor’s door. When I displayed the tarpaulins on my fence, my next-door neighbor followed suit. What sets Sotto apart from the traditional politician is that his tarpaulin contained no image of himself. It emphasized the phrases “Walang Palakasan, Walang Pananakot, Dapat Makabago” above his name.

Quite a campaign he ran on social media and on the ground. Sotto deserves to be our new mayor. The duty of a citizen does not end on election day. I will be vigilant and hold Vico accountable on his promises. The Pasigueños are full of hope. Just read the tweets with hashtag #ibaNa. A lot of congratulatory tweets were on the theme of wanting to be a volunteer, or moving to Pasig. A tweet from a nonresident friend says “Despite all the negativity with the senatorial election results, I look to Vico Sotto’s win with wide eyes and so much hope. It can be done. You can slay giants in Philippine politics.” “I think the mark of a truly great leader is if he’s able to pass it on to the next generation,” Sotto tweeted.
Yes, there is hope.

#ibaNaman means “we need new blood,” while #ibaNa is a “new order.”

First published at the Manila Times’ Sunday Business & IT on May 19, 2019

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It is with great sadness to announce  the passing of our friend and colleague Juned Sonido. He was a co-founder and Editorial Board Member of BlogWatch. Paying tribute to Juned is remembering his legacy to Philippine social media. You can read his past articles here.

Paying tribute to Juned Sonido, a friend, blogger and colleague is going down memory lane in Philippine blogging. Marck Ronald Rimorin’s poignant piece about Juned reminded me of how I started off in the blogosphere. “We were bloggers back then: things were different from this whole trope of influencers and content creators, where society and politics and everything else in between found first draft in that fellowship. It was from this close-knit circle that a man emerged as a sage, a philosopher, a pamphleteer. More than that, a builder of communities and a bridge for friendships.”

I am comforted knowing that Juned would be forever alive in my heart and in my memories. As a social media practitioner, there is one legacy that Juned left behind which I would continue to pursue. This is the Digital Divide. He often reminded me of the Digital Divide whenever I give talks about social media. Given the game-changing effects of the Internet and digital technology, we still live in an unequal world. The most glaring is the Digital Divide. But what is the Digital Divide?

On BlogWatch.tv, Juned explains that the Digital Divide are “a set of divisions in humanity or more specifically in a country based on the use or lack of use of the Internet and Digital Technology. These set of divisions could be grouped into three and often could be related to one another. These groupings are not clear cut and often, there are exceptions.”

The digital native and the digital immigrants

Digital natives are born in the Internet and digital technology age which has made them familiar by being exposed or immersed in digital technology and the Internet. Juned often refers to me as a digital immigrant because I was born before the age of the Internet and became an early technology adaptor.

This divide is superficial because of the learning curve, reluctance and acceptance of technology is individual and not necessarily age dependent. People assume a digital immigrant is not as tech savvy as the digital native, but this is not the usual case. I often laugh whenever he says I am an exception. One could never assume a stereotype on whether he or she is a digital immigrant or digital native.

The digital rich and the digital poor

The financial capacity of an individual affects his ability to purchase a gadget and a reliable Internet access. Smartphones are getting more affordable but a stable Internet access is still a work in progress. Internet speed and stability could be stratified further. Even if I have postpaid plan, it is not a guarantee to better Internet. I still am fortunate because others could only access the Internet by sachet or pre-paid Internet connection. The contradiction is that even those who pay more, do not get this stable connection. This is a consumer and a human right issue.

It is interesting to note that the divide between the digital rich and the digital poor brings out two more groupings of the digital divide

The digital skilled and the digital unskilled

A discrepancy in terms of digital skills occurs because of the lack of funds and opportunities. Digital skills could differ when the learning curve is steep or reluctance of the individual to learn. One gains the skills and knowledge by enrolling on online courses, self-learning and even on the job-training. People try to overcome financial challenges to become digitally skilled. More women with Internet access and a computer, work from home or own online businesses that provide services. Virtual assistant, content writer, social media/community manager, web designer and developer, graphic artist/designer, App developer, English tutor, digital marketing strategist, search engine optimization (SEO) specialist, voice talent and transcriber are just some options open to anyone. Not all are fortunate because financial capacity is a challenge by the majority.

At present the Philippines’ Internet penetration rate for 2019 is 71 percent with the same social media penetration rate. At a population size of 107.3 million, 3 out of 10 Filipinos do not have access to the Internet with nearly the same number connecting on social media.

The relevance of the Digital Divide

Juned stressed the importance of the Digital Divide.

1. Not all Filipinos are connected to the Internet.

2. No matter how promising and beneficial the Internet is, one critical factor to avail of it, is the financial means.

3. The Digital Divide is closing because of the boom and drive of technology.

4. Despite this boom, it is Juned’s opinion that there is a need to be more proactive to close the digital divide between the digitally skilled and unskilled.

5. One impact of closing of the digital divide would be a more diversified Philippine Internet community.

6. This diversification would and has led to a clash of cultures between the different groups (social, ethnic, cultural, religious, economic, political, age and orientation groups). The Philippine Internet would cease to be just our group.

Last, as netizens we should be cognizant of this cultural diversity and become adept to the consequences of the widening diversity of the Philippine Internet, without giving up on our digital rights, which is the same rights we enjoy off line.

Juned leaves behind the people who loved and cared for him, for it is in us he would live on. How? Because we, the ones touched by his wisdom, would share with the world, the parts of us he could influence. This is what a man leaves behind when he passes away. The importance of the Digital Divide is what I would share with the world.

First published at Sunday Business  & IT, July 14, 2019,

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Three months after the May 2019 elections, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results showed 80 percent were satisfied with the conduct of the elections. Two reports from Rappler Plus, and Jonathan Corpuz Ong, Ross Tapsell and Nicole Curato researched more on the use of digital technologies and social media in Philippine politics and electoral campaigns. Rappler Plus dealt with Social Media, Disinformation, and the 2019 Philippine Elections, the copy of which is available to members. Ong et al. studied Tracking Digital Disinformation in the 2019 Philippine Midterm Election.

Being active in social media platforms since 2007, I observed that strategies have evolved since 2010, when social media was first adopted by candidates in the 2010 Philippine national and local elections. The Ong, et al. report confirms my observations and first-hand experiences in the May 2019 elections.

The report of Ong, et al. offered three key messages. Their first pertains to social media and disinformation becoming more central and entrenched in the conduct of Philippine political campaigns. The second message is that disinformation producers are becoming more insidious and evasive. The third key message is that existing regulatory interventions are not adequate, since disinformation industry has become increasingly well-funded and harder to detect.

Ong, et al. added that “social media alone cannot swing a whole election, their effects are profound: they could bait and divert public attention, normalize public incivilities, and mobilise communities through hyper-emotional and partisan communication that makes listening across difference impossible.” Disinformation innovations in the 2019 elections reveals a shift from the ones used in the 2016 elections.

From online celebrities to micro-influencers
Disinformation got more insidious as the campaign shifted from the use of online celebrities to micro- and nano-influencers. Digital strategists used the rise of micro- and nano-influencers to gain more engagement, trust and authenticity. Influencers from political parody accounts, Pnoy pop culture accounts and thirst trap Instagrammers cultivate intimate and interactive relationships with their followers. When a post on politics come from them, it would appear organic, sincere and more compelling. Bloggers pointed me out to Instagram accounts that published photos of a 95-year-old political candidate among their usual content of shirtless, gym gains and lifestyle selfies. Nothing wrong with taking part in such campaigns but none of the thirst trap Instagrammers disclosed #PaidAd, or a sponsored ad in their posts. Campaign spending got tougher to monitor after the campaign season, since many micro-influencers took down posts with political content. Political propaganda tracked by Rappler Plus were found in pages whose content are not as directly associated with political messaging such as those that usually share memes and viral content and even buy-and-sell pages.

From clickbaits to communities
A closed Facebook group that I followed because of my academic background shared hyper-partisan content. Individuals who argued with pro-Duterte members were harassed with homophobic slurs. The power in this group lies in administrators, who could grant access to members and protect the group from outsiders. Closed groups target overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and conspiracy groups like the Filipino Flat Earth group. Coordinated behavior in Facebook was also observed by Rappler Plus. Candidate official pages and support linked directly and indirectly, showing that they either amplified each other or amplified the same messages or content.

A digital strategist delivers two approaches in these communities. One tactic is to use disinformation in a more subtle and discreet way. For example, the use of OFW groups is powerful. Another is a partisan approach which is the Facebook group I belonged to. Some use both approaches at the same time.

From peripheral to central
Digital underground operations have become part of campaign strategies which is not limited to Manila and Luzon, but reaches out to urban centers in Visayas and Mindanao. It also operates from the national to local even to village-level elections. The mainstreaming of disinformation strategies create an industry of ragtag operations who employ young digital workers often in precarious work arrangements. Campaign teams dictate the content to micro media managers who then engage in troll farming. Those hired in the project, copy and paste content in comment sections. Jose Mari Lanuza in an Aug. 11, 2019 TV interview with Karen Davila revealed the amount of “copy paste” work at 500 pesos a day in provinces to 1000 pesos a day in Metro Manila.

Whether or not you were satisfied with the May 2019 elections, find out if your beliefs are affirmed by posts in your closed groups and your timeline. The problem with people believing disinformation is that, even when confronted with truth/facts, they tend to dig their heels in. Perhaps, we are also victims of our own echo chambers.

Interventions are needed in the light of disinformation innovations. Rappler Plus suggests that social media platforms need to be committed in arriving at solutions. One needs to address false information used to manipulate public opinion about candidates and the process and anonymously managed pages and fake accounts that circulate this propaganda content.

I am not in favor of censorship or additional legislation to curb disinformation. Whose discourse are we allowing anyway? We have enough laws to address the problem of disinformation or fake news, Republic Act 10951, the Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 being the most obvious examples. What we need is fair and just enforcement.

Ong et al. recommends a “process-oriented responses that uphold virtues of transparency, accountability and fairness in the conduct of political campaigns and decision-making on social media regulation.” Instead of taking down speech and content, a call for more transparency initiatives, including collaboration with fact checkers, journalists, civil society and academics is needed.

Tracking digital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine Midterm Election by Ong Tapsell and Curato (2019). Public report available at: www.newmandala. org/disinformation

First publsihed at Sunday Business & IT on August 18, 2019.

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Originally published at Manila Times, Sunday Business and IT, September 15, 2019

After the failure of the Umbrella Revolution in 2014, Hong Kong (HK) is going through another notable movement, the “Summer of Discontent.” The HK People arrived at a consensus not to have a leader but solidarity with all groups with diverse points of view.  Joshua Wong is still regarded as a significant leader by pro-Beijing camp and even prosecuted for inciting people to take part in the protests.

Wong is only 22 years old and is one of the most known young activists in Hong Kong. Wong started his public interest career by founding Hong Kong student activist group Scholarism in 2011, which organized a political rally attended by over 100,000 people and pressured the government to withdraw the moral and national education proposal. In 2014, Wong took his influence into the Umbrella Movement and was one of the main student leaders, which resulted in his inclusion in TIME magazine’s Most Influential Teens of 2014 and nomination for its 2014 Person of the Year.

The opportunity to meet Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activist at Berlin’s Humboldt University on September 11 was just too good to pass up. The “Germany Stand with Hong Kong” organized “Salon in Berlin: Paradox of the Leaderless Movement in HK” as an opportunity for Joshua to answer the questions on the struggles he has been facing in this leaderless movement. Some figures emerge from social movements as leaders of the people, whether they choose or accept these labels. While having leaders might suggest more efficient strategies in organizing protests, this approach is often being criticized dysfunctional as it fails in representing all the voices of the crowds. A belief in traditional leadership contradicts the pursuit of an ideal democracy of civil disobedience, in which everyone receives the same importance in the decision-making process.
“I want to tell you how the people of Hong Kong took to the streets in the millions and won’t be frightened by Emperor Xi,” Wong told the audience. “The air of freedom I breathe here, instead of irritative smell of teargas, reminds me of how important it is for me to share the thoughts of people attending the ongoing Hong Kong protests.”

While the protest movement is leaderless, five main demands have emerged:1) complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; 2) dropping of charges against arrested protestors; 3) retraction of the proclamation that protests were riot; 4) independent investigation on police brutality; and 5) universal suffrage for the elections of the chief executive and Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament. They shout “five demands, not one less,” or “stand with HK, fight for freedom”. I have to hand it to these protestors because the movement has been sustained far longer than the 79-day Occupy movement.

What is this leaderless movement? The leaderless structure is like the flat organization of the movements I take part in with my fellow advocates. Wong said it is about technology, human-chain, trust and spontaneity.  Instead of a central leadership, there are facilitators who help organize demonstrations, especially with new protestors.

Strategy and logistics are anonymously planned on the Reddit-like forum LIHKG. Around 100 social or organization groups and private groups are on Telegram. Reports cite how the groups “post everything from news on upcoming protests to tips on dousing tear gas canisters fired by the police to the identities of suspected undercover police and the access codes to buildings in Hong Kong where protesters could hide.” The preference for secure encrypted messenger differs from the Occupy Central protests in 2014 when social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were used. Although Facebook and Twitter are used to share news about the current protests against the extradition bill, much of the sensitive information sharing and coordination moved to Telegram and Signal.

Telegram played a central role, with protesters forming a human chain across the city on the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Chain demonstration from 1989. The app allows users to register an account using their phone number. To keep their anonymity, they use a nickname to conceal their identity, and that could also hide their phone number from others by selecting “Privacy and Security > Phone Number > Nobody” in the app’s privacy section.

I asked Wong about a bug in the Telegram app that could allow anyone to unmask their phone number, even when this setting is on “Nobody.” Wong replied by saying their data protection experts talked to Telegram who then changed its system. According to securitynewspaper.com, the messaging platform in its net update would allow users to hide their phone numbers, giving Hong Kong protesters full protection against these monitoring activities.

“If the internet is down, do you have alternative ways of communication?” I asked. Wong replied that the government can’t shut down the Bluetooth mechanism and they could use other apps for offline messaging. He knows that they need to prepare for the worst-case scenarios. In 2014, the Umbrella movement used Firechat, a peer- to-peer communication app that uses Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to establish a mesh network to transmit data. Other offline messaging apps are available such as Bridgefy, Air Chat, ZombieChat and more.

The pro-democracy activist compares the Umbrella Movement to a traditional encyclopedia. This year’s “Summer of Discontent,” is more like Wikipedia, meaning he’s no longer the editor. Anyone can engage in this movement spontaneously. The courage of the Hong Kong protestors is inspiring. China would never understand Hong Kong’s leaderless movement. The arrest of Joshua Wong and others would not stop the HK protests unless they meet all the five demands.

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First published at the Sunday Times & IT , November 10, 2019

The words “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “fake news” mean different things to different people. Google refers to disinformation as deliberate efforts to deceive and mislead using the speed, scale and technologies of the open web. What is disturbing is several Marcos videos proliferate in YouTube which contain several fallacies which have been debunked already. One example is the order of Marcos “not to fire” at EDSA protesters when in fact there was an order to decimate mutineers on EDSA.

I got a copy of How Google Fights Disinformation from Yves Gonzales, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google Philippines to understand how disinformation is being handled. Facebook looks at inauthentic coordinated behavior of the accounts.

Subscribers or account names are not an issue in the YouTube platform if their content does not violate community guidelines. My issue is when video content is misleading or contain half-truths. In a Marcos propaganda video, a text description reads “After 25 years, it is now obvious that Cory administration is more violent with more journalist dead in her 6 years’ term compared to Marcos’ 20 years.” Where are the facts to support this?

Google’s approach to tackling disinformation in their products and services is based around a framework of three strategies: make quality count in their ranking systems, counteract malicious actors, and give users more context. They want to create a balance “between managing our users’ expectations to express themselves freely on the platform with the need to preserve the health of the broader community of the creator, user, and advertiser ecosystem.” They use three guiding principles:

1. Keep content on the platform unless it is in violation of our Community Guidelines

2. Set a high bar for recommendations

3. They view monetization on our platform as a privilege.

Beyond removal of content that violates their community guidelines, one of three explicit tactics used by YouTube to support responsible content consumption is to reduce recommendations of low-quality content. The Marcos propaganda video I mentioned will not be pulled out in YouTube, but it won’t be listed in “recommended for you” videos. The video contains half-truths, so it is not a downright violation of their policies. What it would remove though are violations on YouTube’s policies against hate and harassment. “Hate speech refers to content that promotes violence against, or has the primary purpose of inciting hatred against, individuals or groups based on certain attributes, such as race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status or sexual orientation/gender identity. Harassment may include abusive videos, comments, messages, revealing someone’s personal information, unwanted sexualization, or incitement to harass other users or creators.”

For example, content that claims that the Earth is flat or promises a “miracle cure” for a serious disease might not violate their Community Guidelines, but they “don’t want to proactively recommend it to users”. The intention is to get this right for their users. They use people as evaluators to provide input on what makes up disinformation or borderline content under their policies, which in turn informs their ranking systems.

As media consumers, flagging the half-truths or misleading content on YouTube would help evaluators to understand context. YouTube’s artificial intelligence recommendation engine, the algorithm that directs what you see next based on your previous viewing habits and searches, could promote false and useless content in the pursuit of engagement. Google needs to look at their policies about misleading content. The enemy of truth is not the outright lie, because an outright lie is easy to see and expose. The enemy of truth is the half-truth lies coated in generalizations, which may have some truth in them but are meant to deceive. How do they now create a balance of freedom of expression on the platform with the need to preserve the health of the broader community? Lies interspersed with part truths fool people. The antidote: demand for specifics or provide context. Google provides users with more context (often text-based information) to make them more informed users on the content they consume. They provide information panels that contain additional contextual information and links to authoritative third-party sites so users couldmake educated decisions about the content they watch on their platform.

While most Marcos-related videos attempting to revise history are not searchable and circulate among closed groups, let’s not underestimate closed spaces in niche social networks. Many of us are already using messenger apps because Facebook or Twitter could be stressful. With the popularity of closed, niche networks and group-chat apps, links to misleading content can re-posted in various groups. More work needs to be done in fighting disinformation. I commend the recent launch of #ThinkFirst campaign of Google and their partners to bring awareness and unite diverse stakeholders to promote media and information literacy in the country.

Download How Google Fights Disinformation. https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/documents/How_Google_Fights_Disinformation.pdf

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What were the year’s hot issues on Twitter? Every year, Twitter releases #ThisHappened, the most tweeted hashtags. Trending moments in the Philippines were in entertainment, Korean pop music, brands, emojis and sports. Maine Mendoza is the top account most tweeted about. Interestingly, #MaineMendoza nailed the top hashtag. The Twitter Philippines (@twitterPH) timeline did not publish the dominant news-related hashtags in the Philippines. So, I went through the global Top 10 news-related hashtags, which include #NotreDame, Start of the Reiwa era; #Venezuela, #Brexit, Typhoon Hagibis, #PrayForAmazona, #Hongkong, #ClimateStrike, #ChristChurch and #DemDebate.

Twitter trending topics is where I draw inspiration for some of my articles. I have featured three topics in this column. My daughter’s passion in protecting our environment prompted me to write about #ClimateStrike at the ‹#CoveringClimateNow and social movements, #FridaysForFuture and #ExtinctionRebellion (Sept. 22, 2019). Meeting Josh Wong in Berlin gave me the opportunity to describe ‘How protest technology is being used by the leaderless movement in Hong Kong” (Sept. 15, 2019). The hashtag #PrayForAmazona compelled me to address climate change by calling out for more people to “Stand up for our environment” (Aug. 25, 2019) and ‹Harnessing community involvement in protecting our forests’ (Aug. 11,2019).

Greta Thunberg, Time Person of the Year 2019, inspired many hashtags such as #climatestrike which has reached the Philippine youth. The Zero Waste Youth Pilipinas (https://www.facebook.com/ZeroWasteYouthPilipinas/) is the Philippines counterpart for the Fridays for Future. Filipino youths are leading the call for urgent and ambitious actions by organizing #ClimateStrikes happening around the country. Alcides Velasquez, a researcher on social media and political activism and participation at the University of Kansas says, “There is a perception among adults that children would be more effective at trumpeting future-looking messages.”

Our youth learn from observing people similar to them. “If you want young people to get involved, showing them that another teenager could do this type of stuff would be very empo­wering,” Velasquez added. I chatted to a close friend of mine whose daughter in High School joins Climate strikes in Metro Manila. Joining the Climate strike is not just because it is a global movement. Both the school and parents encourage less carbon footprint living. They encourage recycled materials.

We could learn from Thunberg’s approach to win the hearts and minds of the world.

1. Facts based narrative is more effective. Thunberg refers often to figures released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October 2018 on the impact of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

2. Provocative words without being too aggressive grab attention. An example is her words to the world leaders in “How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood.”

3. Providing solutions and actionable plans. Though it is challenging to keep carbon emissions level low, every action counts. Thunberg’s speech and the climate strike movement that drew millions to the streets sparked real progress on this issue.

“How the #BabaeAko hashtag campaign cultivated a movement” (July 8, 2018) lists most of the tips on how to evolve from a social campaign to a movement. Though social media networks are being used by disinformation producers and actors, advocating a call to action to a problem is possible. While social media tools are a central component of almost any movement, there is more work ahead such as providing a platform for those without access to the internet, giving voice to the voiceless, and advocating social media for good. Trending hashtags grab media attention which could lead to a movement. An attitudinal shift could happen by transforming anger into a global movement calling for urgent change. #ThisHappened2019 in the news and other topics wraps up the decade. I am looking forward with hope to what is tweeting in 2020 and beyond.

First published on Sunday Business & IT on December 22, 2019

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Frustrated with Facebook and Twitter for their “clickbait nonsense,” Jimmy Wales, a co-founder of Wikipedia, created WT.Social in October 2019. WT.Social  is a social networking service, in which users contribute to “SubWikis.” Unlike Facebook, WT.Social shows new content first instead of engagement. As of Dec. 11, 2019, 417,553 members have signed up. Though the platform is free to join, new sign-ups are placed on a waiting list, but could be bypassed if you donate money or use an invitation link from an existing member. A friend invited me, but I was the  68,000th person on the waiting list. Fortunately, I got in after two days.

More than the clickbait nonsense and ads, digital disinformation producers and actors abuse the freedom to use Facebook and Twitter. A  North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) study reported four models of disinformation in the Philippines, such as the In-house Staff Model; Advertising and PR Model; Clickbait Model and the State-sponsored model. The latter leads to “silencing, self-censorship, and chilling effects among dissenters and the public.” Removing coordinated inauthentic behavior by Facebook is not that easy for them. Hybrid accounts (where a real person manages many fake accounts) are difficult to detect. One could just imagine the number of moderators needed to review pieces of content posted every day. Recommendations from the NATO study suggest a process-oriented rather than content-oriented policy response as the most effective solution to combat disinformation. Such interventions “should not be about speech regulation and censorship, which could potentially inflict myriad harms to free speech.”  Greater transparency and accountability in campaign finance, platform bans, fact-checking and industry regulation needs to be ensured.

A community of moderators that collaborate on news content in WT.Social was both a process-oriented and content-oriented response. The subject on “Fighting Misinformation” was one of the default sub-wikis when I joined. Climate change was a category I selected because there are just so much lies, propaganda and disinformation from both skeptics and alarmists. Will it work? Doc Ligot, a convener of the Consortium on Disinformation and Democracy thinks it is “an interesting reaction to the backlash against ads and privacy happening with Facebook and Twitter. The donation-volunteer model worked for Wikipedia for going on two decades, and if this gets enough user support it could work.” Right now, I am still observing the conversations in the communities I follow. Ligot said it is too early to have an impression on the functionality since it is a work in progress. If the momentum is maintained, and it delivers the unbiased newsfeed or topics along with zero ads, then it could be a good alternative. The potential as a powerful platform for consuming and sharing news is there but would need more tweaking as more users join.

Wales’ social network would rely on a community of users to enforce standards of good behavior. I expect this would work because Reddit’s r/politics could manage misinformation with its 5.6 million members. A Reddit moderator, “Qu1nlan” in an interview said when they see fake news, which is not correct, they encourage their user base to fact-check it themselves with a comment. An example is “well, here’s why this news is fake, and here are the sources to back it up. And here’s why you shouldn’t believe everything that you see on the Internet.” WT.Social model is different because other users could edit or delete content.

Tired with Facebook and Twitter? Then, WT.Social is for you. While Facebook or Twitter would still be my social media platforms, I would use WT.Social for niche communities on Climate Change and Fighting Misinformation. Before posting anything, check out “A Beginner’s Guide to WT.Social” thread. When you first “Write something” to create a post in a SubWiki or on your profile, one is given a choice between two radio buttons: Collaborative and Individual. Collaborative is best when you’re unsure of your information. Every post shows a detailed history showing changes made. Every post could be rolled back to an earlier version, only by you if it was initially set to Individual, or by anyone if set to Collaborative. While WT.Social still needs to increase its user base, I look forward to seeing it succeed as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter.

First published in Sunday Business & IT, December 15, 2019

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How did you learn about the eruption of Taal Volcano on Jan. 12, 2020? Many of us got alerted in our social media feeds. During the long ride home from the beach, photos of Taal Volcano spewing ash and smoke into the air started showing up on my Facebook account at 2:45 p.m. Searching keywords on Twitter from a credible news source confirmed with the caption “Taal Volcano erupts on Sunday afternoon.”  By 3 p.m.,  I posted on Facebook and Twitter that “Phivolcs raises Alert Level 2 over Taal Volcano as it releases steam in phreatic explosion.”

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) is my source of information for alerts that arise from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami and other related geotectonic phenomena. Phivolcs website (phivolcs.dost.gov.ph) issues comprehensive bulletins. In fact, Phivolcs recorded volcanic earthquakes and provided Alert Level 1 over Taal Volcano beginning March 2019. Looking at the traffic stats on recent posts, only less than 2,000 people read the articles prior to the 2:30 p.m. Taal Volcano bulletin of Alert Level 2 on Jan. 12, 2020. Scrolling down their Twitter timeline, most of the updates prior to the eruption pertained to earthquakes recorded around the Philippines.

Posted on Phivolcs twitter timeline at 3:19 PM, January 12, 2020

None on Alert Level 1 for Taal Volcano which was posted on their website that morning. All this information would have been valuable if there was a working disaster information management system that delivers the alerts down to the local government units (LGU) and other relevant government agencies. Cavite Fourth District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr is seeking an investigation on why “no news bulletins or SMS alerts” were available prior to the eruption of Taal Volcano on the afternoon of January 12. For the lawmaker, there was a “lack of dissemination of information in the hazards of volcanic activity of Taal Volcano” to the public.

Who needed help? Where are the evacuation centers? Such information was not available soon after the ashfall unless one knew how to search information online. Without a centralized and organized data system, information chaos is bound to happen. Take for example my friend who related his frustration on how it took three days for him to convince his family to evacuate. With all the information online and from neighbors, family members got more confused and refused to leave. Initially, they fled not knowing where to go and just followed some people to places that turned out weren’t safe either. My friend stresses that “we must combat fake news. What’s more dangerous is the confusion that buries legitimate information.”

While Rep. Barzaga is investigating what went wrong, we could help fight disinformation by sharing verified information from legitimate sources.  More than fact-checking, we need truth tellers. Know the websites and social media pages for accurate information on the Taal Volcano eruption. For updates on disaster assessment and response, check out the website of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) at ndrrmc.gov.ph.  Phivolcs provides updates for bulletins, advisories, and updates on volcano eruptions and earthquakes. The LGU is also a good source of information if corroborated with Phivolcs and NDRRMC. I recommend getting updates only from official, reliable sources, like government agencies and media who are known to vet information.

Minimizing information chaos starts with us. When you see a post seeking help, what do you need to do? The motivation to help is admirable but don’t share right away. You might be sharing deliberately false or outdated rescue post for the #ReliefPH efforts.

I have also written in a previous column (July 22, 2018) that in the initial hours of a disaster, we should not expect the disaster agencies, rescue teams, and law enforcers to be our first responders because it is possible that many of them would themselves be affected.

A family needs to have a preparedness plan during emergencies and a survival kit, which could just be a huge backpack or a large plastic pail with the basics you need like food, water, medicines and packing in a transistor radio, power bank, flashlights, extra batteries, some clothes, and blankets. We can prevent another information chaos when national government, media and private sector sit down and organize a working Disaster Information Management System.

First published at the Sunday Business & IT , Manila Times, January 19, 2020

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Originally published in Sunday Business & IT on March 22, 2020

How is everybody doing in the time of the Luzon lockdown or community quarantine in your province? Much as I want to help in the frontlines, I am within the high risk category that is strongly advised to stay at home. No matter the age or our abilities, we all have something to contribute in our battle against the the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic during a lockdown or community quarantine.

I have heard advice that we must also observe social distancing in social media. While there are several activities we could do at home, we could harness social media for good.

In this time of anxiety and uncertainty, we need someone to talk to or connect with through support systems. Even sharing creative moments or memes through #QuaratineLife and #StayatHomeChallenge hashtags cheered some netizens. Making fun of toilet paper is driving people to laugh despite the anxiety. My daughter asked her Twitter followers to post photos of their kitchen experiments since many are spending lots of time at home. Considering most restaurants are closed, netizens in Metro Manila shared contact details of food delivery, including GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Natalie Barnes, “We are Social” interim head of editorial, shared a bulletin on how social media gives the true support system in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Social media is a valuable tool in getting important information out and in connecting and helping communities around the world. A study from “Obviously,” an influencer agency, showed a 22-percent increase in Instagram campaign impressions from Q4 2019 to Q1 2020, and a 27-percent jump in engagement on average on TikTok from February to March. Lizzo, with her 8.4 million Instagram followers, started a meditation to “promote healing during this global crisis.” Urging her fans to be safe and responsible, she adds, “We can’t be afraid of each other, so that means we have to be doing the right things to be safe: face masks, washing hands… So, we’re going to take all of this fear and transmute it into love.” Having light moments on social media is a respite from the sad reality of confirmed cases all over the world.

Image via Prachatai on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

I’ve seen overwhelming support for those who are vulnerable, the healthcare workers and the local communities and homeless families during the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. The hashtag #ProtectTheFrontline is a call to help our health workers on the frontline of the Covid-19. Journalists from various news organizations met online to suggest common hashtags such as #Covid19PH (Philippines news about Covid-19); #coronavirus (information about the virus); #Covid19Quarantine (updates on areas under quarantine); #ReliefPH + #Covid19PH (relief operations and donations) and #LuzonLockdown (updates on the enhanced community quarantine for Luzon). Now that many are working at home, netizens are keenly watching out the work of their respective local government units (LGU) and debunking false claims of trolls. One LGU example is the Twitter support for Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto through hashtags #ProtectVico and #Vivico. A twitter user noticed that “Vico Sotto is the prime example of what a government should do. I couldn’t believe we’re so deprived of good governance to the point that we’re praising someone doing stuff that’s literally part of their job description.”

Aside from sharing information on LGU news, proper hygiene and verified health advice, observing proper hygiene and debunking misinformation, we could also support our healthcare workers or help ease the difficulties of those whose lives have been affected by the ongoing lockdown. The website flipscience.ph curated a list of local fundraisers and donation drives you could support, organized by beneficiary and sector: 1) for medical professionals and health workers; 2) for scientists involved in Covid-19 testing and 3) for workers, families, and communities in need of material assistance.

Together with Rock Ed Philippines, Doc Gia Baquiran Sison, Gang Badoy Capati, Rosario Juan and other generous individuals, they carry out efforts to provide healthcare workers with nourishing meals using hashtags #RockEdRelief and #FrontlineFeedersPH. And if you are still restless, chatterpack.net gives a list of free, online, boredom-busting resources such as virtual tours, online learning, geography and nature, music, arts and culture, literature online, entertainment, mental health, and prayers resources. Scribd’s digital library is free for the next 30-days through a special link (scr.bi/ReadFree). No credit card or subscription commitment required. Our virtual neighborhood extends to closed spaces where we share these tidbits of information.

Social media efforts are very inspiring as these enable us to protect and preserve the spirit of community in the time of the Covid-19. “By harnessing it openly and authentically, we can create global networks of inspiration, support, empathy and kindness — values that bring us as close together as possible,” Barnes concluded. I am thankful for the bayanihan spirit in my virtual neighborhood.

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