COMELEC spokesperson responded to critics of the new rule on political candidates’ YouTube verification.
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS — COMELEC Spokesperson James Jimenez recently responded to critics of the new rule on political candidates’ YouTube verification.
On Monday, Jimenez hit critics of the newly-announced rule asking political candidates to verify their official YouTube channels for the 2022 elections.
Jimenez made the remark in a virtual press conference as he reiterated that political candidates didn’t need to have at least 100,000 subscribers in order to get the verification badge from the video-sharing platform.
“Look, the day we released that someone tried to make some noise about it and I said if you have any problems with it, write the commission. Ask the commission to strike it down. No one has done that. We are not really going to be changing policy just because some people in the internet misunderstood the provisions, right?” Jimenez said without mentioning the name of the political aspirant he’s talking about.
According to the YouTube Help Center, users were eligible to apply for verification if their channel reached at least 100,000 subscribers.
READ ALSO: COMELEC To Verify YouTube Channels Of Political Candidates
However, there were certain instances that the video-sharing platform “proactively” verified channels with fewer than 100,000 subscribers if they’re “well-known outside of YouTube.”
Jimenez also explained that the new policy was “enunciated” by the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) of the Fair Elections Act (Republic Act No. 9006).
“We never said that you’re supposed to have 100,000 followers. We just said you need to get verified. Did anyone try to get verified? Because those who did got verified. Gano’n lang naman kasimple ‘yon,” he said.
The COMELEC spokesperson earlier explained that having the political candidates’ accounts verified would improve accountability. However, it wouldn’t automatically mean that they’re telling the truth.
Apart from YouTube, he said that the poll body would also work with Facebook and Twitter for the verification of political candidates’ accounts, explaining that this was part of COMELEC’s steps in order to fight misinformation and disinformation.
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