Don’t spread fake news, photos, netizens told

The photo of Honduran soldiers in prayer that asst. presidential communications secretary Mocha Uson passed off as Filipino soldiers in her Facebook post.

NETIZENS were asked to be responsible in sharing information online especially those pertaining to the Marawi City siege.

“We urge everyone, especially our friends from the media, to ensure that all information we share are true and accurate,” said Harold Clavite, director general of the Philippine Information Agency in a statement.

The statement was read in yesterday’s “Ugnayan: A Dialogue for Progress” at the Central Command headquarters in Camp Lapu-Lapu in Barangay Apas, Cebu City.

Clavite said everyone should avoid sharing information that compromises the military’s operational strategies and to practice prudence, responsibility and conflict sensibility especially in social media.

Lt. Col. Medel Aguilar, Centcom asst. chief of the Unified Command staff for Civil Military Operations, said the dialogue with stakeholders including government information officers, is timely because security is a shared responsibility.

“You can expect us to fight and battle against the terror group, but you can only do that efficiently if we have the support from the populace,” Aguilar said.

He also mentioned that social media seems to be the battlefield with fake news and trolls. Aguilar told all the information officers in the government to step up.

“You have to collaborate and be aggressive in disseminating information,” Aguilar said in his speech.