26/05/2022
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, play a vital role in the dissemination of information. It has has changed the way we communicate, do business, get our daily news fix and so much more. The most obvious pros of using social networks are the ability to instantly connect with people, know real-time news and information discovery, great opportunities for business owners, and for general fun and enjoyment. However, it is no secret that there's also a dark side in using social media platforms. There is the rise of misinformation and fake news. The freedom to post any content given to social media users, paired with the lack of accountability from social media platforms enabled the proliferation of fake news. Anne Uy of Barangay Divinagracia, Lapaz responsibly uses social media platforms and would like to stop or discredit fake news peddlers.
“One of the Social Media platform i am usually engaged with is Facebook. One of the biggest social media flat forms popularly used by over 2.9 billion active users from different walks of life. Through facebook, we could be able to connect with different kinds of people, relatives far from us, unknown personalities and friends of friends. It is where we share photograhs, post comments and post links to news and other interesting contents which maybe true misleading. Therefore, this is also the most convenient source of fake news and disinformation now a days. So how can we avoid this? Always check the author of the content we are viewing. Make sure to have a reliable and reputable source for news and other information which should be evidenced-based, provide an in-depth and ubiased content and with a well known reputation of being trustworthy author over time. Stop the soreading of all this fake news and disinformation. Be vigilant and don't just believe with what the web oahe is telling us about something or someone. Do a web search to find out and to determine the accuracy of the information.”
-Anne Uy
We must always remember that social media is a powerful tool since its strong influence in the country can shape society’s opinion on any individual or issue. We all must learn how to responsibly exercise our freedom to post content on our respective platforms, in accordance with the right to free speech, and of expression. We encourage everyone to report or flag posts that are considered false or misleading and we must always put in mind to think before we click.