With disinformation and fake news expected to surge as the 2025 midterm elections approach, journalists called on the public to reclaim online spaces by transforming social media into a tool for citizen journalism.
At the “Campus Patrol” media literacy forum hosted by ABS-CBN on March 21 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes O.P. lobby, veteran journalists tackled how social media has become fertile ground for unchecked disinformation — but also a space where everyday people can contribute to news and election coverage.
As fake news is anticipated to spike in the lead-up to the midterms, ABS-CBN News chief content aggregator Dabet Panelo said social media still holds promise, especially through citizen journalism, where young people can take a stand against election-related falsehoods.
“We would see, our recent history would tell us that our elections have been marred and have been decided based on disinformation, sadly, na disinformation ‘yong umiikot,” Panelo said. “Siyempre ‘yong tanong natin, ‘What can we do?’”
Panelo encouraged students and regular social media users to engage in citizen journalism through digital platforms like ABS-CBN’s Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo, the network’s citizen reporting initiative, where individuals can send in grassroots-level stories.
“Tell us about your communities and what is happening within them, especially ngayon na mage-elections,” she said. “Anong nangyayari sa inyo, ano’ng issues sa mga community ninyo?”
Panelo added that citizen journalism should go beyond simply reporting news and must also involve fact-checking.
“Fact-checking should actually be a way of life,” she said. “Hindi na siya option lang.”
ABS-CBN News chief reporter Jeff Canoy said journalists must also adapt to social media to fight disinformation, saying the platform had become a breeding ground for falsehoods partly because the media was initially hesitant to engage with it.
“That very small hesitation ng mga journalist to go into this new platform, it allowed for the agents of lies and disinformation to come in,” he said. “‘Yong mga journalist, nag-second guess, and the moment na nag-second guess kami, we allowed them to proliferate. ‘Yon ‘yong problema at ‘yon ‘yong tina-try naming bawiin ngayon.”
He added that journalists at all levels must occupy the same space where fake news thrives to combat these falsehoods in ways that are both authentic and creative, rather than relying solely on traditional methods.
“Ang mission namin ngayon is, even though we don’t understand this world, and we’re still trying to understand it, at the end of the day, we just have to be there,” he said. “And how do you get there? Just boldly go.”
Veteran anchor and 2022 Marshall McLuhan Fellow Karmina Constantino said journalists must work to re-engage the public, who have become increasingly disengaged from important issues.
“The public is disengaging for whatever reason,” she said. “We’ve entered into this voyeuristic era where other people’s lives — their drama, their lifestyles — are more important, more engaging than the nation’s affairs. Or worse, even if they want to get into the state of affairs, some would rather believe lies over truth because of how these lies are presented.”
However, she stressed that despite these challenges, the press must continue its work.
“No shackles are strong enough against a free press determined to be free,” she said. “The pendulum always swings back. And we have to be sure that when the time comes — when it swings back to us — we are there,” she said.
The Campus Patrol event at UST marked the third leg of ABS-CBN’s ongoing media literacy campaign.
