Five in 10 Filipinos said they have difficulty in spotting fake news on TV, radio, or social media, results of a recent Social Weather Stations survey released on Friday showed, highlighting the dangers of misinformation and disinformation during the election season.
Fifty-one percent of the 1,440 Filipino adults surveyed from Dec. 12-16, 2021 said it was difficult for them to know if a piece of news or information from TV, radio, or social media was fake or wrong, while 48% considered it easy.
Twenty percent of the respondents also said they see or read fake or wrong information in these forms of media "often", 40% "sometimes", 35% "seldom", and four percent "never".
The December 2021 survey also showed that 69% of adult Filipinos believe the problem of fake news in the media was "serious", which is nine percentage points higher from 60% in December 2017.
Those who consider the problem of fake news in the media as serious is higher among those who spot misinformation "very easy" (82%) and "somewhat easy" (78%) than those who say it's "somewhat difficult" (62%) and "very difficult" (58%).
Also, those who think the problem of fake news in the media was serious are highest among those who spot them often (84%), followed by those who encounter misinformation sometimes (76%), and seldom (57%).
Spotting fake news is most difficult among non-elementary graduates (59%), followed by elementary graduates (58%), junior high school graduates (48%), and college graduates (43%).
When it comes to area of residence, those who say they spot fake news in the media often are highest in Metro Manila (34%), followed by Balance Luzon (23%), the Visayas (15%), and Mindanao (11%).
The face-to-face survey was participated by 360 adult Filipinos each from Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, and had a sampling error margin of ±2.6% for national percentages and ±5.2% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The results of the survey came out at a crucial time as candidates for national posts began their campaign for the May 9 elections. Truthful and accurate information about the candidates and their platform allow people to make informed decisions, including choosing who to vote for, analysts said.
“Ayaw naman natin magbase ng desisyon natin, especially sa kung sino ang iboboto, based on lies or misleading information. That's why we need to fact-check,” Celine Samson, the head of VERA Files’ online verification team, told reportr in an earlier interview.
“Fact-checking is a way to hold people in power accountable,” she added.
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