PCO INKS MOA WITH CICC TO FIGHT FAKE NEWS

PRESIDENTIAL Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Jaybee C. Ruiz on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) in the fight against fake news and misinformation.

“The PCO will fight against fake news through a whole-of-government approach,” Ruiz declared during the MOA signing with Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos.

Ruiz said the PCO will also leverage the expertise of Scam Watch Pilipinas, a national cybersecurity movement dedicated to educating Filipinos on cyber fraud and addressing cybersecurity gaps at the grassroots level.

Ruiz hoped more agencies would join the campaign against fake news and misinformation.

“Fake news has become prevalent in recent times. It has become even stronger in the last weeks after former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by Interpol and brought to The Hague in the Netherlands to face allegations of crimes against humanity,” he said.

“Fighting fake news is the fight of our generation. We should all join hands and work together to win this fight,” he added.

The PCO has mandated all its attached agencies to designate dedicated fact-checking officers to strengthen internal mechanisms against spreading false information.

It has partnered with VERA Files to conduct training sessions to counter misinformation and disinformation.

VERA Files is a verified fact-checking partner of Meta that works to debunk false claims circulating online.

The PCO also launched a Media and Information Literacy Campaign focused on educating the youth on assessing and validating information sources, helping them distinguish falsehoods from the truth.