Comelec warned the public about disinformation campaigns ahead of the 2022 elections.
On Wednesday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned the public about disinformation campaigns ahead of the 2022 elections.
GMA News Online reported that the Comelec warned of the possible proliferation of disinformation ahead of the upcoming May 2022 elections as it welcomed an academe-led initiative to gather people’s views on national issues.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez spoke about the said concern during the online launching of the “Boses, Opinyon, Siyasat, at Siyensya para sa Pilipinas (BOSES Pilipinas)”, an opinion and survey research unit spearheaded by pro-democracy coalition PARTICIPATE and the Ateneo School of Government.
“One of the major problems identified by the Comelec as being a red flag [in the run-up to the] 2022 elections of course is the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation. And any initiative that will help educate the public as to the difference between the two of course will be very welcome,” Jimenez said.
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Ateneo School of Government dean Ronald Mendoza compared misinformation and disinformation to viruses that “can spread like contagion”. He also underscored the importance of having quality information to have “more informed voter choices”.
In a statement, BOSES Pilipinas said that it aimed “to advance empirical, interdisciplinary, and policy-oriented public opinion studies on democracy, governance, and development”.
According to BOSES Pilipinas convenor Imelda Deinla, BOSES Pilipinas wouldn’t conduct surveys commissioned by politicians.
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