Rappler MovePH discusses social good in the digital age

MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement wing for educating the community, in partnership with Lasallian Community Development Center (LCDC) and Office of the Student Services (OSS), spearheaded #MoveCavite as the third installment of Social Good in the Digital Age in promoting digital and social media responsibility in this age of disinformation, held last March 12 at the Alumni Auditorium of the Severino De Las Alas building.

Social media courage

Following the theme of the event, Rappler News Editor Miriam Grace Go discussed the power of social media on the youth, mentioning that 97-98% of young people spend time on Facebook; followed closely by Youtube, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, and Viber.

On why the young generation constantly interest themselves in news, “You want to be updated, you want to be connected, you want to be involved, taking action whether small or big as long as it is connected in a group … [They are] curious, and you find ways [on] how to narrow down your search, [and] it informs news producer like us, [on] how we communicate with you,” Go said.

With that information, Go emphasized the need for good storytelling as social media users are influencers and news distributors with their own audience, “You are a good storyteller when you get personal, when you engaged your audience … If you put your take on it … when you say something about it, nagkakaroon ng conversation,” she said.

Moreover, Go advised the crowd on the effect of their opinion on impacting their close colleagues and families regarding an issue, “Don’t take for granted the influence you have on the people around you,” she said.

Fighting disinformation online

On the other hand, Rappler Multimedia Reporter Aika Rey discussed digital media etiquette on being a reporter in the time of disinformation giving attention to the importance of data journalism in combatting these issues, “When the number doesn’t look like it; how do they lie through the data,” Rey said.

Rey also tackled issues such as the Boracay closure in 2018, the number of times MRT has breakdown, the former chief of Tourism Promotions Board Cesar Montano, Grab surcharge fee, and contractual issues involving PLDT – all of which with data coming from investigative journalism. Sharing her experience on the field saying, “We (journalists) are a one-man team, we ask the hard questions … and we challenge that … It’s more than just ‘He said, She said’,” Rey said.

In addition, Rey advised the attendees to not be intimidated by the numbers as it is crucial for analyzing information online, “Kailangan maging mapagmatyag, kailangan titigan mo din maigi [‘yong information posted online], … importante ‘yong context, baka may mga kulang na information na binibigay sila… [Always] keep asking,” Rey instructed.

Meanwhile, Rappler Digital Communications Head Paige Occeñola addressed the responsible use of social media sharing that the abusive behavior online has been increasing with the simultaneous lowering of the leniency for this kind of behavior.

“You are also a publisher of your own right … [However,] the thing with social media, is that anger is very viral … Hate crimes [are] being acceptable to the public … Tolerance for aggressive behavior, hate speech, tumataas kasi akala mo normal lang ‘yon,” Occeñola said.

Occeñola also discussed ways on how to tell if a news story is fake, advising the audience to always fact check before sharing, “Disinformation, the problem with that is that they spread faster than the truth,” she said.

In their movement to combat disinformation online, MovePH has also conducted #MoveBaguio and #MoveCagayan as first installments of the campaign. #MoveCavite was attended by Junior High School, Senior High School, and students from the various colleges of DLSU-D.