The battle for facts needs the collective strength of groups and individuals promoting truth in the public space and exacting accountability from those who harm it with lies.
Heeding this challenge, over 120 media, coalitions, civil society groups, business organizations, and research and legal groups banded together to form #FactsFirstPH, an initiative described by Rappler CEO and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa as a “proactive fight against the use of social media for disinformation.”
#FactsFirstPH is a first-of-a-kind initiative that aims to debunk dubious claims online, make facts spread faster and farther than hate and lies, flag disinformation narratives and actors, and hold online perpetrators accountable.
This collaboration is supported by technology partners Meedan and Google News Initiative, and Rappler.
How this project works
Four layers reinforce each other under this initiative: fact-checking, widening the distribution of these fact checks, studying social media behaviors and disinformation networks, and holding accountable those spreading lies and hate online.
News organizations, academics, and partner groups fact-check claims and publish reports debunking lies or misleading information. The news organizations also mobilize communities to directly report online claims through their own tiplines on Messenger, Viber, Twitter, and other applicable platforms.
Civil society organizations, religious groups, and business communities are expected to monitor claims online and share these fact checks to a wider audience. They also organize campaigns, translate fact checks into different Philippine languages, and amplify calls to promote truth and practice the habit of fact-checking.
Produce research aimed at flagging false narratives and identifying the disinformation actors online
Lawyers and legal coalitions work with fact checkers, partner organizations, and research institutions to come up with ways to deter and respond to online attacks against truth-tellers.
For over half a decade now, Filipinos have been spending the most number of hours on social media globally.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that the Philippines is considered patient zero in the global disinformation infodemic.
Hate and lies harm democracy. They weaken the institutions that sustain it.
Citizens need to push back and combat the lies and the hate - and hold to account those behind them.
Help us fight this infodemic by joining #FactsFirstPH, a one-of-a-kind, multi-layered and multi-sectoral approach to fighting
