Information Support Affairs in Addressing Fake News
“We need to know the clear guidelines of social media organizations in handling the activities of their users, and make sure that these neither infringe on the individual’s right to freedom and expression nor allow the abuse of such freedom.” This was the call of Senator Grace Poe, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, in one of the committee’s hearings pertaining to the surge of fake news in the Philippine media setting. The spread of fake news and the deception it causes to our society has become rampant that it has caught the attention of our lawmakers.
Internet in the Philippines has become a breeding ground of fake news and propaganda aimed to put others down in order to advance the interest of a few, especially the enemies of the state. What is true or legal, is no longer important as long as the masses support it. There are instances when responsible journalism has been compromised in the name of profit. The rapid proliferation of the advances in information and communication technologies has revolutionized the exchange of information in this generation, most especially in social media. Sad to say, there is no tool that is readily available to filter falsehoods from truth.
Joseph Goebbels, an infamous propagandists during World War II, observed that if you tell a lie big enough and kept repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident that they are acting on their own freewill. Deception through the spread of fake news can take a toll on anybody or any organization, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) are especially vulnerable.
Through this trend of spreading disinformation, the enemy has been using this platform to deliver their propaganda efforts in agitating their audience and eventually lead these people to sympathize with their cause. If mishandled and answered inappropriately, this will adversely affect the AFP, PNP and the government as a whole.
This is where Information Support Affairs (ISA) comes into action. Basically, in ISA, we develop the appropriate themes and messages that our organization can utilize in order to address disinformation brought about by fake news to deceive the public.
Information Support Affairs presents a clear-cut procedure on how to analyze and respond accordingly to any propaganda that aims to discredit us.
The skill sets of an ISA practitioner were taught and further honed at the Army Civil-Military Operations School where quality education is one of their primary objectives. This, I can say, is one of the best approaches to counter any propaganda thrown at men and women in uniform.
As for me, being a member of the Special Action Force of PNP, and as a graduate of the ISA Course, I will be leaving the Army CMO School with high hopes that someday, I can contribute to the betterment of public service by using the knowledge and skills that I have learned. I hope that somehow, I can bring pride to the Army CMO School because in my field, they were able to produce a police officer who is not only able to fight deception through communication, but is also able to craft relevant ISA lines in promoting a trusted and reliable police force.
