Journalists, staff take part in GMA Masterclass for Eleksyon 2025

GMA Integrated News on Saturday held a "Masterclass"  in preparation for the midterm elections in 2025.

According to Vonne Aquino's report in 24 Oras Weekend, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and several network officials shared their expertise to equip journalists and staff for next year’s elections during the “GMA Masterclass: Road to the 2025 Elections.”

“This is certainly not our first election coverage, but to a degree, we are marching into unfamiliar grounds because of how rapidly technology is evolving,” said Oliver B. Amoroso, Senior Vice President for Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy.

“Let today's masterclass strengthen our commitment to fulfilling our mas malaking mission, mas malawak na  paglilingkod sa bayan by helping preserve the integrity of the polls and our democracy at large."

COMELEC Chairperson George Garcia discussed the overview of the midterm polls and voter's education.

The upcoming elections would also implement the first-ever online voting for overseas Filipinos.

"Now, sa Internet voting, naka-cloud siya pero at the same time mayroon siyang data center. Mayroon din siyang hard copy. The hard copies can always be used as the basis of the results," said Garcia.

(With Internet voting, everything will be saved in a cloud but at the same time, we will have a data center. There will also be a hard copy of your votes. The hard copies can always be used as the basis of the results.)

Some Masterclass participants were also able to try out an automated voting machine, which features a touchscreen monitor, that would only be available for overseas voters in territories that do not allow internet voting.

Meanwhile, University of the Philippines journalism professor Rachel Khan discussed how artificial intelligence can be used in politics and during the elections.

GMA AVP for Legal Affairs Jose Vener Ibarra, on the other hand, talked about election laws.

GMA New Media AVP for Information Technology and Data Privacy Rodelio Arenas and Social Media Manager Audrey Domasian shared their knowledge on how to detect deep fakes and online disinformation using AI technology.

The COMELEC said that they had drafted a set of revisions to the Omnibus Election Code to regulate the use of social media for campaigning.

The poll body was also considering prohibiting the use of deepfake technology during the elections. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/DVM, GMA Integrated News