📷Courtesy: IBON Foundation
Makabayan senatorial candidate and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro called for accountability against disinformation, misinformation, and red-tagging during the Tri-Committee hearing conducted by the House Committees on Public Order and Safety, Information and Communication Technology and Public Information.
During the hearing, Rep. Castro disclosed that she had submitted a report to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) regarding AI-generated images circulating on Facebook that spread fake news about her and other progressive candidates.
“Ang mga AI-generated images na ito ay malinaw na bahagi ng isang orchestrated campaign para siraan ang mga progresibong kandidato. Hindi lamang ito simpleng political mudslinging kundi deliberate disinformation na nagpapalaganap ng kasinungalingan,” Castro said.
The lawmaker noted that COMELEC had already reported these fake images to Meta, which has since taken them down. However, she emphasized that more proactive measures are needed.
“While we appreciate the actions taken by COMELEC and Meta, we need a more systematic approach to prevent these incidents from happening in the first place. We cannot simply play catch-up with disinformation peddlers,” Castro emphasized.
The Makabayan senatorial candidate called for accountability of disinformation, misinformation, deepfakes, and other forms of manipulated content thru pro-active self-regulation among the media and other platforms (thru media councils etc), media literacy, support CSOs advocating against disinformation, and the like.
She urged relevant government agencies, particularly the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to establish mechanisms to prevent the spread of false information.
“Kailangan natin ng mas matibay na self-regulation at mekanismo para labanan ang disinformation. Hindi ito tungkol sa censorship kundi sa pananagutan. Dapat may accountability ang sinumang nagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan, lalo na kung ginagamit ang advanced technology tulad ng AI,” Castro stated.
At the very least, Meta should use blurring and watermarking to sufficiently warn or inform its users if all content, including posts and comments, is digitally altered or AI-generated.
They should also proactively take down users with a history of red tagging and impersonation.
Meta should also have controls on their technology that takes down, suspends accounts that are mass reported, because such mass reporting is recognized by the FB AI as “true.” But in the Philippines trolls are able to use this against FB pages of progressive candidates and organizations.
“Sa panahon ng digital information, mas tumitindi ang responsibilidad ng bawat social media user, dapat nakabatay sa katotohanan ang mga inilalathala. Hindi pwedeng pagtatakpan ng ‘freedom of expression’ ang deliberate na pagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan,” she added.
The lawmaker highlighted that progressive organizations have long been victims of disinformation campaigns and red-tagging, which put their members at risk.
“Red-tagging is not just about labels – it has real, dangerous consequences. Many of our colleagues in progressive organizations have been harassed, threatened, and even killed after being red-tagged. This practice must stop, and those responsible must be held accountable,” Castro concluded. #
