Palace to form ‘first-ever fact-checking team’ vs fake news

Malacañang will soon have its own team of fact-checkers to fight fake news on social media platforms.

In a statement on 3 September, Press Sec. Trixie Cruz Angeles said her office is currently forming its "first-ever fact-checking team" under her supervision.

"Inaayos at pinaplano na natin ang pagbuo ng unang fact-checking team ng Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) para labanan ang pagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon at balita sa mga online platform," said Angeles.

The team, she said, will help the OPS in fulfilling its mandate to craft and implement the information systems of the Office of the President.

"Sa ngayon ay may mga team tayo na gumagawa ng mga content sa ating mga social media pages para tumugon sa mga napapanahong isyu ng pamahalaan at pagbibigay ng mga impormasyong kailangan ninyong malaman," she noted.

Angeles added that the OPS aims to educate the public about fake news.

"Kaisa tayo ng Ehekutibo at ng Kongreso sa patuloy na kampanya kontra fake news at pagpapalaganap ng edukasyon upang labanan ito," she said.

Prior to her appointment as Press Secretary, Angeles was a pro-administration vlogger and social media consultant of the Presidential Communications Operations Office from 2017 to 2018.

Most fake news on social media have been traced to pro-administration followers.