Howie Severino: If you can't trust a journalist, who will you trust?

The role of professional journalists is crucial in promoting media literacy and fighting fake information, GMA News Online's editor-at-large Howie Severino said during the 2024 BaLinkBayan Stakeholders Conference.

As bearers of truthful information that they report to the public, Severino said journalists must be credible and accountable.

“We commit to the highest standards of journalism....This is what we vow to do and we’re going to do it publicly so you will judge [and] you will hold us to these standards… Di kami nagtatago sa likod ng fake identity, di katulad ng mga nasa internet na walang accountability… (We are not hiding behind a fake identity, not like people on the internet who have no accountability) That is a form of accountability,” Severino said in his talk on Media and Information Literacy.

“If you cannot trust a journalist, who are you going to trust? Our way of life is to present facts, find evidence, and produce the truth,” the multi-awarded journalist said.

Howie Severino tackles the importance of advancing media and information literacy in the Philippines in his discussion at the 2024 BaLinkBayan Stakeholders Conference. @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking pic.twitter.com/z2BdxTb9GD

— Jiselle Casucian (@jaycecasucian) August 29, 2024

Severino warned about the increasing proliferation of deepfake identities aided by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

“Sobra nang magiging confused ang tao [sa kumakalat na deepfakes], at 'pag confused na ang publiko dahil sa disinformation, mas madali silang kontrolin, mas madali silang mabudol. Mas madali silang ma-manipulate, and that might be part of the intention why they’re doing all of this,” said Severino.

(People would become so confused [due to the proliferation of deepfakes], and when the public is confused due to disinformation, they are easier to control and easier to scam. They are easier to manipulate, and that might be part of the intention why they’re doing all of this.)

Severino said the GMA Network’s Panata Kontra Fake News campaign is one initiative to encourage the public to be discerning against misinformation.

“We are mobilizing all of our resources to launch a campaign against the danger of false narratives, false campaigns, lies,” Severino said.

Low literacy propagates idolatry, destroying values, he added.

Severino cited a 2023 World Bank study that showed the learning poverty in the Philippines at 91 percent, with nine out of 10 Filipinos being unable to read and understand age-appropriate texts at the age of 10.

He said the low literacy rate may result in low-information voters, who often fall victim to false information.

“Every society now has a low-information voter. 'Yung madaling mabudol, mga nagse-share ng kung ano-ano without much thinking, 'di sila discerning, perceptive, at marami sa kanila unfortunately, and very often it’s not their fault, 'di edukado,” he said.

(Every society now has a low-information voter. The ones who are easy to scam, who share whatever without much thinking, not discerning [and] not perceptive, and a lot of them are unfortunately, and very often it’s not their fault, uneducated)

Due to the increase of false information combined with a lack of media and information literacy (MIL), there was an observed mass confusion and the emergence of distorted values putting loyalty and idolatry on a pedestal.

“We’re so confused, we’d rather just obey. Loyalty is a higher value now than truth for a lot of people… It doesn’t matter if something is false. Basta loyal ako du'n sa taong nagkakalat, ispre-spread ko din. Basta idol natin, 'di siya nagkakamali, (It doesn’t matter if something is false. As long as I am loyal to the person spreading it, I will spread it as well. If he is my idol, he can do no wrong)” Severino observed.

Severino stressed the urgency to promote MIL to the public in the 21st century.

“Media and Information Literacy enables people—consumer, parents, voters—to make sound decisions. Kung wala tayong MIL, then we cannot make smart decisions, including sa politics, economics, including sa bahay,” he added.

Severino promoted the use of libraries and increased efforts in education to combat the low literacy rate. He said there is Republic Act No. 7743 or the Library Law of 1994, which mandates the establishment of libraries in every municipality.

Among others, he named citizen libraries, honesty libraries, and mobile libraries as initiatives in improving literacy, along with educators and support for school libraries.

He also encouraged increased support for education and nutrition during early childhood years, as it was the most basic solution to encourage children to learn.

“Ang panawagan ko ngayon, ang cultural DNA natin ay enlightened. Ang challenge sa 'tin ngayon ay (My call is, our cultural DNA is enlightened. The challenge now is) to revive the enlightened nation, and to leave behind the learning poverty,” Severino said.

The BaLinkbayan project was initiated by the Commission on Filipino Overseas to connect Filipinos abroad to social and economic initiatives in the Philippines to encourage them to become development partners in building communities in the country. —LDF/KG, GMA Integrated News