August 15, 2023

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. led the launching of the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) campaign on Monday as the administration’s response to fight the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation in the country’s digital landscape.

Marcos said the MIL campaign is an “immediate and urgent” answer to address the unfortunate spread of fake news and help people learn and discern for themselves if the information they are consuming is truthful or not.

“We have to find a way to make sure that whatever the inputs our people are getting, they have the capability to discern between truth, speculation, propaganda or outright lies. And that is the job that we’re starting here today,” he said during the launch at the Hilton Hotel in Pasay City.

Spearheaded by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the MIL campaign was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos and key officials of the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Education.

Abalos said the DILG will collaborate with the PCO, other NGAs, and various social media platforms to come up with a comprehensive plan that targets the root of disinformation and the spread of fake news to protect and educate netizens, especially the youth sector.

Private sector partners from various social media platforms including Google (YouTube), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), TikTok and X (Twitter) also pledged their commitment to support the MIL campaign by providing tools and training to fight disinformation and misinformation.

The campaign aims to integrate MIL into the higher education curriculum, barangay training, and family-oriented programs through a comprehensive execution plan to be developed by PCO and the NGAs.

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/PBBM-launches-media-and-information-literacy-campaign-Abalos-vows-support-for-MIL-vs-disinformation-misinformation/NC-2023-1143