What does Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma’s call on broadcasters not to spread fake news have to do with reports of Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson supposedly performing with her Mocha Girls group inside a casino?
Nothing really, except that Uson, who’s fond of calling media critical of or adversarial to her boss President Rodrigo Duterte “presstitutes,” is apparently not concerned with observing or upholding the same lofty standards of objectivity, decorum and propriety expected of media practitioners on herself and her group.
As other media outlets have reported yesterday, Uson may have violated Memorandum Circular No. 6 which prohibits government officials from entering casinos in light of the negative impression it may create on the public.
It’s not some old order issued by past administrations but a directive issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea which considered officials entering casinos as “conduct prejudicial to the best interests of the service.”
While Uson’s direct superior Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar is said to have allowed her to perform with her group, presumably his permission didn’t cover performing in casinos.
We mention this bit of news in light of Uson’s present position as a government official and her propensity to take media to task about their perceived biases and inclination to report what she and her followers consider “fake news” inimical to the interests of their master.
Need we mention the photo she posted on her social account showing soldiers praying before an operation but were not actually Filipino soldiers, and that the photo was lifted from a foreign news source?
True, there are scalawags in the media industry, but so do other professions. Then there are those who prefer to employ the convenience of anonymity in posting rumors on Facebook and other social media (read: Cebu Flash Report) whom Palma likely referred to in his homily to Cebu’s broadcasters, who are marking their annual Broadcaster’s Month this September.
Any reports that come out of broadcast and print media that were later disproved by updates are feasted on by self-styled critics, some of whom may or may not be spreading rumors on their social media accounts from fake news websites.
The same requirements or expectations of accountability, trustworthiness, accuracy, honesty, objectivity and integrity from mainstream media demanded by Uson and her followers, as well as media critics, also apply to them especially to Uson who’s being paid by Filipino taxpayers and expected to comply with the law and requirements of her office.
That being said, ensuring the delivery of accurate, objective, detailed news that is easily understood by the public is a daily, constant challenge faced and shared by both mainstream and social media. And there should be no room for fake news.
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