The Effects of Fake News on the Philippine Media and the Economy
By: Shiela Manalo
Tags: Media, Journalism, Economy, Fake News, Internet

Written by Genesis Munsayac

Photo credit: AmCham Philippines Facebook page

Last July 25, 2018, I was able to attend the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) of the Philippines’ General Membership Luncheon Meeting. This one had an interesting title to it, “The Effects of Fake News on the Philippine Media and the Economy.” This greatly sparked my interest since I was used to attending events related solely to economy. It was a refreshing experience, to say the least. Renowned Philippine journalist, Ces Oreña-Drilon, joined us to discuss the adverse effects of fake news on the Philippine media and the economy.

We’ve all had that experience of coming across shared news stories with hyperbolic headlines while scrolling through our social media feeds. Some of us would click and read the accompanying article in disbelief, while others would just immediately share it around without verifying the source. Though critical readers would spend a few minutes of Google-directed due diligence to reveal a story’s veracity, by then, it may be too late — the story may have already gone viral and received millions of page views.

Fake news has seriously caught on. It has greatly influenced the way media platforms operate, the public’s perception of information, and even how governments confront its proliferation. The internet radically changed the way news is published. Much like the invention of the printing press, the internet allowed more people to publish their thoughts and chipped away at the news from publishing giants.

In theory, this was a wonderful advancement that leveled the playing field. Fake news had always been around, but nowadays, the main differences lie in the way its being spread and read. At present, information, whether true or false, travels faster. People could easily access tons of news and information through different media platforms through the internet. In addition to this, images are making it even more believable — the better the image, the more convincing the story is. Perception can be constantly manipulated to make it better and believable.

Fake news had always been around, but nowadays, the main differences lie in the way its being spread and read. At present, information, whether true or false, travels faster. People could easily access tons of news and information through different media platforms through the internet. In addition to this, images are making it even more believable — the better the image, the more convincing the story is. Perception can be constantly manipulated to make it better and believable.

Photo credit: AmCham Philippines Facebook page

The effects of fake news can be very destructive — both on a social and economical way. If even just one person would say one bad thing about a certain product, all he or she would need is another person to comment or agree and this would make it sound true for most. According to Ces Drilon, one of the reasons why fake news can be very convincing is that massive amounts of it could make it believable. The sheer volume of content about one specific rumor makes it even more convincing to the public eye.