In the intensified information and communication environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipinos have more frequently worried over the question, “How can we separate fact from fiction?” Our collective experience in the past two years has shown that this can be difficult.
To offer solutions to this question, the University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao College of Humanities and Social Sciences is co-presenting the webinar, “Fact-checking in the Time of Coronavirus” on 11 June 2021, 4:00 p.m. This webinar is held in collaboration with MovePH, the civic engagement unit of the Rappler news organization.
The webinar is open to the public free of charge. Interested persons may register here: https://bit.ly/3vVsX3N
MovePH has been leading a series of fact-checking webinars in the time of coronavirus aimed at training participants to spot disinformation online and combat it. During the webinar, Ms. Raisa Serafica, Rappler’s head of civic engagement, will discuss the internet environment during the pandemic; and Ms. Vernise Tantuco, Rappler’s researcher/writer, will discuss the fact-checking methodology. There will also be a Q&A session and a spot-check exercise.
According to Rappler, more than 3,500 participants in all regions of the country and even abroad have joined the first 28 sessions of the webinar since it began on April 3, 2020.
Several of these sessions were co-hosted by various academic institutions, youth organizations, and local groups. For the upcoming session, the webinar is being co-presented by the UP Mindanao and its College of Humanities and Social Sciences.