Telling the Truth

by Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan

If disinformation is a great threat to democracy, how do we push back? How do we reconnect to facts? How do we create solidarity with the millions who believe in what they think were the ‘Golden Years’?

The first and continuing work is empathy. It is easy to be angry and contemptuous of the people who have been misled by disinformation. But they are not the enemy. The enemy are those who have intentionally, systematically, and massively lied to us. The duty of those who are woke to the process of truth-telling is to awaken those who are not.

At the recent CALD conference on democracy and disinformation, journalist John Nery framed the spread of disinformation to the spread of disease—an infodemic, so to speak. Nery said that inoculation or vaccination is the strategy. This means we have to sharpen our ability to recognize the six main drivers of disinformation: trolling, discrediting, emotion, polarization, impersonation, and conspiracy. More importantly, we have to share this knowledge with as many people as possible, especially to those who have been infected by or are vulnerable to disinformation.

To know who spreads the virus, it is important to unmask the trolls. Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio proposes to require social-media platform users to register their true identities. This would deprive disinformation spreaders of the power to hide behind made-up characters.

In our objective to reclaim democracy, Jason Gonzales, Director General of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, assessed the disinformation network in the context of the May 2022 elections and came up with a formula on what needs to be done: A broad coalition plus effective content at scale, plus powerful narratives.

We need a bigger megaphone, a broader network coalition from different sectors of society, from Class A to D.We need to continue with our tao sa tao, puso sa puso (person-to-person, heart-to-heart) campaign, which we have done in the last elections. Phil Bennion, Vice President of Liberal International and a victim of the disinformation drive that preceded

Brexit, said that we have to be aggressive and get into different channels to counter the lies as they happen on a daily, ongoing basis.

Truth tellers need to produce effective content at scale. We need an organized system of content production as well as content distribution. Let us encourage volunteers to join our ranks, our units, and our communities in BUILD Pilipinas (Bridging Unity and Inclusivity Through Leadership in the Digital Age). Our electoral campaign has generated a lot of creativity across the nation. Let us continue to produce materials from works of art, songs, dances, stories, theatre plays, and films expressing our dissent against lies and falsehoods. Let us remember that facts are not enough because they do not speak to the soul the way art and humor touch our core beings.

We need powerful stories. Claire Wardle in 2018 said, “We need to fight rumors and conspiracy with engaging and powerful narratives that leverage the same techniques as disinformation.” ‘Gets Ka Namin (We Get You),’ tagline of the clothing company Linya-Linya Philippines, encapsulates the power of relatable, connected, on-point messaging as shared by the firm’s co-founder, Ali Sangalang.

The objective of truth-telling is a process. It is exploring and asking questions. In the same CALD conference, truth teller and educator Sheila Coronel said that we have to examine dominant narratives and analyze why they are so powerful. Educational efforts should not just correct disinformation but also present a nuanced history. We need to tell and teach a nuanced history that accounts for the failures of dictatorship but also the flaws of democracy, the resistance to authoritarianism, and our continuing efforts to build a just and democratic society.

This requires all of us to be involved. Democracy and truth need all of us.