Metro Manila, Philippines – As campaign season for the midterm polls heats up, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday urged Filipino voters to be wary of false information that easily spread online.
In a new vlog, the chief executive warned that disinformation will be rampant as candidates campaign for the upcoming elections.
“Kakambal ng kampanya ang mga intriga at batuuhang putik na tinatawag na fake news. Kaliwa’t kanan na rin ‘yan kaya dapat maingat tayong mga mamamayan,” Marcos said.
“Ang sabi nga natin, ang bagong Pilipino ay marurunong kumilatis sa tama at maling impormasyon…Dapat extra-ingat po tayo,” he added.
[Translation: The campaign is always accompanied by issues and smear campaigns called fake news. That’s found left and right, so we citizens should be careful. As we say, the new Filipino will know how to distinguish between right and wrong information…We must be extra cautious.]
During the 2022 elections, Marcos’ presidential bid was highly criticized for allegedly using disinformation to rewrite facts on the EDSA People Power Revolution and the martial rule of his father and namesake, the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In that campaign season, misleading posts were found promoting the late dictator’s regime, supposedly distorting historical accounts.
Later on, some reports from international news organizations revealed that many pro-Marcos misinformation outputs targeted his then main rival, former Vice President Leni Robredo.
Marcos had always denied all allegations.
