Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me the truth of this all
Published April 17, 8:55 AM
by Pia Silvano
TRUTH
Respecting someone’s opinion has been a resounding discussion in the community lately, particularly among those people who are vocal about their respective chosen candidates for the 2022 elections. With these various platforms that are given to us to disseminate and consume information, it is no surprise that people nowadays seem so “educated” about certain matters in our society. Just like how booming the politics is right now here in the Philippines, so does the prevalence of fake news.
Pia Silvano
With the elections coming up in less than a month, social media, if not, is one of the most dominant platforms that shape the standpoint of the public with regard to politics. For the reason that we are currently in a pandemic, campaigns are now mostly done on social media, that is why paid trolls and fake accounts are literally everywhere.
It is saddening to see that there are a lot of people out there who are victims and keep on believing all this fake news. When people are presented with ideas and information they often easily accept and take it without even researching or fact-checking furthermore if these are actual facts. One reason is that people manipulate or distort their own way on how they process information so that it will align with their beliefs or stands.
However, in some cases it is not just about choosing the way we will process things out, it is also about us, individuals, being media literate. The hard pill to swallow in this case is that a lot of Filipinos are not media literate, they do not have the ability to be critical thinkers, which is why it is hard for some to critically analyze and fact-check information given to them.
When some try to educate and correct people who are believers of these lies they often think that trying to educate them is equal to shaming them, thus they become defensive and respond by saying “Just respect my opinion.” However, someone’s opinion can only be respected and is deserving to be heard when it does not spread and manufacture fake news. People need to stop using freedom of speech and respect someone’s opinion as a defense when being corrected just because it hurts their pride and ego.
How hypocritical it is for people to wish for truthful and good governance when they themselves cannot be like this as an individual. It is long overdue now to just say that we cannot stop people from consuming and falling for fake news because it is everywhere and cannot be avoided. We have to eradicate those who peddle fake news and fight and stand for what is the truth.