Sifting through the lies

Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Ebisa

TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL

CONCLUSION

It may not be as engaging as fiction. Some even consider it unattractive and dull.

But truth, like the soul, shall endure; while the rest will be swept away.

“At present, truth is a lonely road. Not many want it because it’s inconvenient,” said Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Ebisa, SVD, station manager of radio DYRF and president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Cebu Chapter.

“But as it is, truth is our barometer and compass. It is something we should always embrace and opt for,” he added.

As heaps of lies continue to swarm the different portals of information, Ebisa urged people to be on guard and to resist all kinds of deceit, particularly the menace of fake news.

It may require swimming against the current or climbing steep hills, he said.

“Lying seems to be the new normal. It’s tough to fight lies. But why don’t we take the road less traveled and try our best to search and stand up for the truth?,” Ebisa said.

“Like crooked rivers that follow a path of less resistance, our life too will also be out of shape if we choose the path of less resistance, the easy way, the course without truth,” he added.

Moral disorder

Dr. Maryjun Delgado, a veteran psychologist in Cebu, said people who disseminate lies have nothing but the thirst for power and money in their minds.

“They want to take advantage of the innocence of people and manipulate them. They find fulfillment when people believe the lies they make. It’s basically selfishness, power, and arrogance. And of course, money,” she said.

Delgado called on people to be cautious so as not to fall into the trap of deceit, or much worse, patronize fake news.

“Please do not take every information you read as true. Do not be gullible. Instead, think and verify the contents of the information you encounter.

Remember that people with common sense are circumspect and are not easily fooled,” Delgado said.

It’s about time, she added, to fight fake news; otherwise people can no longer decipher which information to believe and which to reject; not to mention, the reputations that are ruined by the numerous lies and deceit.

Delgado said honesty must be instilled in every family in order to mold each person at a young age.

“Young people are growing up with technology. They must be taught about the importance of truthfulness in their respective families, and we should not let truth pass us by,” she said.

Plague

Jason Baguia, Mass Communications professor of the University of the Philippines Cebu, said fake news has become a barrier to effective communication.

“Fake news has challenged teaching because it is a communication plague,” he said.

The phenomenon called “fake news” or “disinformation,” he said, has turned participants in communication either into victims of deception or into more skeptical, if not cynical, individuals.

“Skepticism or cynicism has made it difficult to facilitate the kind of dialogue that heals the wounds of division and builds communities,” he said.
Baguia urged teachers and professors to continue proclaiming the truth to students in the hope that through studies, they will become more discerning consumers and producers of information.

At the heart of communication, he said, are the virtues of love and communion so that interactions will be more resistant to fakery and untruth.

“At the Final Judgment, everyone will have to answer questions like ‘When I was a victim of fake news and therefore thirsty for truth, did you give me a drink?,’” Baguia said.

Spirit of truth

Amid the spate of lies and volumes of untruth, Fr. Ebisa said that more than ever, truthfulness remains very relevant in the modern times.

“Nowadays, anyone can be the producer and consumer of information. Because of technology, anybody can post anything online. Gone are the days when editors of legitimate news outlets are the only gatekeepers, who decide what information to include in a publication,” he said.

“In this fast-changing world, truth may have become unpopular. But we have to hang on to it amid all these information overload because deep inside every human heart is the longing for truth who is God himself,” he said.

Ebisa also challenged print journalists and broadcasters to be agents of truth in an era of massive disinformation, knowing how every bit of information they disseminate affects human lives.

“Those in the media don’t only inform. They must also transform lives. For every time we publish or broadcast something, we’re not only dealing with numbers but persons with hearts. That is why we need to be very careful,” he said.

The KBP Cebu Chapter led by Ebisa is currently conducting numerous seminars to fight fake news and educate people. KBP-Cebu is planning to join forces with the academe to make the campaign more effective and widespread.

“We start with the little things. The task may be tough but remember that the ocean, no matter how vast, is composed of droplets of water. Let us therefore start with the little things, and hope that it will eventually magnify,” he said.

Victory

In the end, Ebisa said truth will triumph over lies no matter how insurmountable the obstacle may seem.

“To stand up for the truth is no easy thing to do. But truth is like a driftwood offering safe refuge in the vast ocean of information overload. We therefore need to rediscover it, and stand up for it in good times and in bad,” he said.

“I believe that the truth will prevail in the end because the truth that we speak of and believe in is God Himself. The primary battle against evil and untruth has been won. And because God is truth, it will destroy all lies,” Ebisa added.