TMS Deep Dive:
Fighting Election Misinformation in the Philippines
December 13th
12pm - 12.45pm SGT
How we found social media networks altered & reinforced views before elections
by Gemma Mendoza & Cheryll Soriano
This session will draw on the speakers’ research on the rise of alternative influence networks on social media that build, magnify, and shape political narratives and agendas. These facilitate new forms of political intermediation and promote media-hostile rhetoric, with broader implications for reconfiguring epistemic values in contemporary Philippine democracy.
2pm - 2.45pm SGT
How we thought out of the box so voters would question candidates
by Karen Vinalay
Learn how to create boring and complex topics into a more engaging and fun educational experience. This session is a quick breakdown of the "BAKIT" campaign that teaches Filipinos to doubt and question anything they see on the internet.
December 14th
12pm - 12.45pm SGT
How lawyers can contribute to journalists’ election coverage
by Alfredo Molo & Christianne Grace Salonga
Lawyers were part of the crucial framework in the #FFPH movement. Learn how a Legal/Accountability Layer in your collaborative efforts can help pushback against concerted/organized disinformation networks and why it’s an important component to have.
2pm - 2.45pm SGT
How we used data to power an inter-sectoral fact-checking network
by Mia Gaviola
The Nerve created a data-backed approach to influence and build community strategy around an algorithmic mesh to support fact-checking efforts in the Philippines (#FactsFirstPH).
December 15th
12pm - 12.45pm SGT
How I got my students to be part of the fact checking movement
by Yvonne Chua
For five years now, journalism majors at the University of the Philippines have been learning how to detect and counter false or misleading information, including fact-checking, in a full-semester course. The academic activity has shown that students can help make a difference in helping push back against misinformation and disinformation.
Speakers
Yvonne T. Chua
Yvonne T. Chua is an associate professor of journalism at the University of the Philippines. A longtime journalist, she has been associated with four fact-checking initiatives: Vera Files Fact Check, which she started in 2016 and led till early 2019; Tsek.ph, a pioneering collaborative fact-checking initiative for the 2019 and 2022 Philippine elections; the student-driven FactRakers for her students at the university; and the Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator project, which has been assisting fact-checking operations of five Philippine newsrooms. She has done research on disinformation, hate speech, dangerous speech, and media and democracy.
Mia Gaviola
Mia heads TheNerve, a Manila-based data insight consultancy that specializes in data forensics and data-led strategies for organizations & companies in the Philippines and globally. Previously, she worked as Rappler's Head of New Business, focused on implementing Rappler’s core business streams that included BrandRap, Interactive Platforms, E-commerce, and Business Intelligence Unit. In recent months, Mia and TheNerve team has supported Rappler's #FactsFirstPH through data-backed community strategies.
Gemma Mendoza
Gemma Mendoza is Rappler’s Head for Digital Services and concurrently Lead Researcher for Disinformation and Platforms. In this capacity, she leads Rappler’s multi-pronged efforts to address disinformation in digital media, harnessing big data-supported research, fact-checking, and civic engagement. As one of Rappler's pioneers who launched its Facebook page Move.PH in 2011, Gemma initiated strategic projects that connect journalism and data with citizen action, particularly in relation to elections, disasters, and other social concerns.
Alfredo Molo
John Molo has spent two decades in high-stakes litigation and judicial reform work. He has argued landmark cases in the Philippine Supreme Court, and has acted as counsel for the Philippine Senate, jurists, and activists. He currently represents Rappler and Nobel Prize Winner Maria Ressa. He is the Coordinator for #FactsFirstPH's Accountability Layer. He teaches Constitutional law.
Christianne Grace Salonga
Grace Salonga is a Senior Associate in ACCRALAW Offices, one of the big law firms in the Philippines. Her practice areas include Securities and Capital Markets, Corporate and Contracts. Salonga is the current Executive Director of the Movement Against Disinformation (“MAD”). MAD is a broad non-partisan coalition of members from the academe, legal profession, civil society groups, international and local non-government organizations and other advocacy groups that are united to push back against the systematic and unregulated spread of disinformation in social media, which viewed as a real and serious threat to democracy.
Cheryll Soriano
Cheryll Soriano, PhD is Professor in the Department of Communication, De La Salle University Manila. Her research examines the intersections of digital cultures, platformization, and politics. She has published over 50 scholarly works and leads various research and advocacy initiatives in the areas of platform labor, democracy and disinformation, and strategic communication. Dr Soriano is author of the books, Philippine Digital Cultures: Brokerage Dynamics on YouTube (Amsterdam University Press, 2022) and Asian Perspectives on Digital Culture: Emerging Phenomena, Enduring Concepts (Routledge, 2018).
Karen Vinalay
Karen Vinalay has worked in the creative industry for almost 15 years. She spent a decade in Myanmar working on branding and social change campaigns focused on women, youth and the environment. She is currently the lead of Save The Children’s innovation project called SHIFT, a youth campaign accelerator that operates in Africa, South East Asia and South America.