PCO teams up with Vera Files vs misinformation
‘This partnership marks a significant step in strengthening a transparent and independent fact-checking mechanism within state media’
Daily Tribune‘This partnership marks a significant step in strengthening a transparent and independent fact-checking mechanism within state media’
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) has partnered with online fact-checking organization Vera Files to combat misinformation and disinformation.
According to the PCO, state media fact-check officers from People’s Television Network Inc., Radyo Pilipinas, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine Information Agency and the Philippine News Agency will undergo training to enhance their fact-checking skills as well as strengthen media literacy within the government’s media outlets.
It will also focus on providing fact-checkers with the necessary skills to navigate complex information issues, promoting resilience against misinformation in the digital age.
The training series entitled “Siguraduhing Totoo: A Vera Files Fact Checking and Online Verification Training” will be conducted on 13 and 14 February in Luzon; 20 and 21 February in the Visayas; and 27 and 28 February in Mindanao.
The PCO said its partnership with Vera Files comes at zero cost as the fact-checking firm expressed its commitment to combating misinformation and disinformation across all media platforms and segments of society.
“This partnership marks a significant step in strengthening a transparent and independent fact-checking mechanism within state media. It also aligns with the government’s ongoing ‘Maging Mapanuri’ campaign to promote media literacy and combat misinformation,” the PCO said.
In September 2024, then newly appointed Acting Secretary of the PCO Cesar Chavez said he wanted the government office to “be an instrument and not to peddle fake news.”
