Disinformation has evolved from psychological operations of the military to influence operations in social media. In the Philippines and around the world, the spread of false information has been threatening not only elections, but democracies as a whole.
Since 2016, Rappler has been documenting and tracking the data and influence operations in the country. This has resulted in several attacks targeted towards Rappler, its reporters, and its CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa. In June 2020, Ressa was convicted of cyberlibel for a story published 8 years ago.
Southeast Asian studies professor Leloy Claudio sits down with Ressa as they talk about disinformation and its effects on local and global spaces.
In this interview, they discuss how social media has become a behavior modification system, and online users are Pavlov’s dogs. Ressa calls on real accountability in online spaces, most especially Facebook, and urges the younger generation to act and rebuild an information ecosystem that will give a sense of a working democracy. (READ: [ANALYSIS] As democracy dies, we build a global future)
Bookmark this page to watch the episode. – Rappler.com
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