PIA-Caraga calls on soldiers to join fight vs disinformation
BUTUAN CITY - The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga highlighted the pivotal role of information literacy to the soldiers assigned in grassroots communities, during the recent Mobile Community Support Sustainment Team (MCSST) Refresher’s Training of the 402nd Infantry ‘Stingers’ Brigade, held at Camp Romualdo C. Rubi, Brgy. Bancasi, Butuan City.
As resource speaker, PIA Caraga Assistant Regional Head Renelle Luzon Escuadro told the soldiers, “You are not only soldiers, you are also fact-check officers. So it is essential that the information that we bring and disseminate to the barangays and communities is not misinformation, disinformation and mal-information.”
“Because the barangay is the first and last mile in information, it is necessary that we fact-check information at all times, including information that we receive from the communities and validate their veracity,” she added.
She emphasized the need to equip the participants with knowledge and skills to effectively understand and identify if information is either fact or fake.
Information pollution
“In information literacy, we are more effective if we are specific in spotting the nature of the information and we refrain from using general terms,” Escuadro underscored.
She encouraged the participants to be vigilant and start appreciating the three categories of information pollution: Misinformation is the unintentional spread of false or inaccurate information. It often arises from mistakes, misunderstandings, or misrepresentations and can occur in various forms, such as rumors.
Disinformation, on the other hand, involves the intentional spread of false information with the intent to deceive or manipulate. Tactics may include the creation of false stories, doctored images, and misleading narratives.
Mal-information consists of the dissemination of true information but with malicious intent, such as sharing private or confidential data without consent. It can lead to harm, invasion of privacy, or reputational damage.
The resource speaker also shared some online sites and tools that are helpful in verifying statements, photos, among others.
She also encouraged the participants to use development communication in all their communication outputs and community engagement so the grassroots communities may know the programs and projects of the government for countryside development.
Meanwhile, PIA Caraga Information Officer III Nora L. Molde also made a relevant discussion on effective public speaking where participants performed in different role-play scenarios.
Brigadier General Adolfo B Espuelas, brigade commander of the 402nd Brigade, thanked PIA Caraga for helping the Philippine Army strengthen the communication prowess of the brigade.
“We must maximize this learning opportunity as we are fortunate to undergo this specialized training. This will prepare our soldiers to be effective communicators at the sitio-level, and sustaining the peace agenda of the government will be easier if we have the right and correct information.”
The activity served as an affirmation of PIA’s commitment, as the development communication arm of the government, as a key player in the advocacy on information literacy, and transforming troops as fact-check officers. (RLE, PIA-Caraga)
