SINGAPORE— Please don’t lie or spread “fake news” about President Rodrigo Duterte.

Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy made this appeal to pro-Duterte supporters at the sidelines of the Facebook Community Standards Feedback Forum held here on Tuesday.

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Badoy said the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is taking “very seriously” the campaign against disinformation.

“Kasi sa totoo lang (Truth be told), with this kind of President, whichever side of political fence you’re on, we cannot naman deny that he’s very hardworking,” she told Manila-based reporters.

“With us, we see also his heart; he’s really very real to the Filipino people. Parang sa amin ‘yung pinakamadali, sabihin mo lang yung totoo, ayaw namin ng fake news (It’s easy for us, just tell the truth, we don’t want fake news),” she said.

Badoy said she saw no reason why people supporting the President have to spread lies about him when he is doing his job anyway.

“I’m very pro-Duterte, but why am I not spreading any fake news? If I’ve done that, maybe it was an honest mistake, that’s not something with malicious intent,” she said.

“If there are pro-Dutertes who think that they need to spread fake news, I have to tell them that you don’t need to; the President is doing a wonderful job. Please, don’t lie about him. He does not need it,” she added.

Badoy lamented though that there are also critics who pretend to be “pro-Duterte” and post “stupid things” in social media “because we’re supposed to be stupid.”

“So there’s also that convoluted thing going on ‘di ba?” she said.

Badoy said people must be “educated” so they would not fall victims or become purveyors of fake news.

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And the strongest weapon against all these disinformation, she said, is through media literacy.

But she nevertheless expressed hope that Facebook would do more to keep the platform free from fake news and hateful speech.

“All over the world, it’s really prevalent that kind of hate speech, bullying and ‘pakamatay kayo’ ang mga ganyan (those who tell others to kill themselves). Ako, I wish they would take a stronger stance to that. Take down people who are super hateful, talagang malicious ‘yung intent,” the official further said. /je

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