Comelec: Misinformation, disinformation threaten upcoming polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said that, apart from vote-buying, misinformation and disinformation also pose significant threats to the upcoming 12 May elections.

Previously, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said that misinformation and disinformation could "make or break" the 2025 midterm elections.

Last year, the poll body formed Task Force KKK (Katotohanan, Katapatan, at Katarungan), a committee tasked with monitoring content aired on TV, radio, print, and online platforms, and debunking and combating false information targeting the Comelec, its officials, and the electoral process.

"We have been saying for a long time that the threat in the elections is not only vote buying but also misinformation and disinformation, which is practically confirmed by your committee," Garcia said in a radio interview.

"Last week, false information made the rounds on social media, alleging that individuals would need to show their national ID to be allowed to vote. Fortunately, we responded immediately to make it clear that there is no such information," Garcia added.

He stressed that fake news is "destroying the credibility of our elections."

Meanwhile, Garcia also clarified that "nothing has been compromised in any of its systems" or in any of the election data.

This comes as the Comelec has reportedly received nearly three million hacking attempts on its precinct finder website.

"We almost received three million hacking attempts on our website, but nothing has been successful," he added.

Previously, Garcia clarified that there was no glitch in the precinct finder after several registered voters reported a "connection timed out" error when accessing the platform.

The Comelec chief explained that the slowdown was part of their strategy to counter any possible attempts to hack the precinct finder.