GMA NETWORK INC.
PressOne.PH has joined newsrooms and universities nationwide in an advocacy campaign against fake news and disinformation spearheaded by GMA Network.
Launched ahead of the 2025 midterm elections and on National Press Freedom Day, the “Panata Kontra-Fake News” campaign featured almost 60 partners, all pledging to uphold the truth and combat its inverse.
According to GMA Network Chairman Felipe Gozon, the campaign was initiated to continue the “longstanding crusade to safeguard the integrity of discourse” in the Philippines.
“Not a day goes by without false information spreading like wildfire in an ecosystem where checks and balances are outpaced by distortion, deception, and speed,” Gozon said during the Aug. 30 launch.
“It is once again, the stalwarts like you, those who are behind me, who stand against disinformation,” he added, referring to representatives of the partner organizations, which included PressOne.PH multimedia editor Niceforo Balbedina III.
The campaign was launched against the backdrop of fake news being viewed as a problem in the country by an overwhelming majority of Filipinos, or nine out of 10 adults, based on a 2022 Pulse Asia survey.
It also kicked off a month before the filing of candidacies for the 2025 midterm elections, a time notoriously known for causing an uptick in false information, especially online. The Commission on Elections has also joined the Panata Kontra Fake News campaign.
“Fake news is both dangerous and harmful, but the truth is glorious and useful. It fosters an informed populace, essential for a functioning democracy and a stronger society,” Gozon said. “With it, we lay the groundwork for transformative projects that enhance the lives of every Filipino.”
An independent news organization, PressOne.PH has been a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network since March 2023. It is among the five newsrooms in the Philippines to be accredited by the network, the others being MindaNews, Rappler, Vera Files, and ABS-CBN.
PressOne.PH was part of the Philippine Fact-Checking Incubator program of Internews, launched in 2022 before the presidential elections.
It is a fact-checking partner of #FactsFirstPH, a broad Philippines-based anti-disinformation network comprising more than 120 news outlets, business entities, civil society groups, and research and legal organizations.
Other media partners that signed GMA Network’s “Panata” include the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, Manila Times, the Philippine Press Institute, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
The anti-fake news campaign also includes educational institutions such as the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, and member-institutions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Logan Zapanta
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