RAC UST CENTRAL KICKS OFF PROJECT AGAINST DISINFORMATION

RAC UST CENTRAL KICKS OFF PROJECT AGAINST

DISINFORMATION by Eduardo Fajermo Jr., Rotaract Club of UST Central

The Rotaract Club of University of Santo Tomas Central (RAC UST Central) launched its first community service project in view of its crusade against disinformation entitled “Tama ba ‘to?: Combating disinformation in the time of COVID-19” last March 12 and 15. Development Office, RAC UST Central connected with partner communities from Sitio Galilee and Kasiglahan Village in the province of Rizal. The forty participants from both communities were composed of students and their parents, community leaders, and educators of the locale.

Besides the infodemic—the rapid spread of information making the verification process difficult—the project also intended to assist in alleviating struggles brought by people’s receptiveness to information and propaganda due to the pandemic and politicking.

As the organization dreams of a society where pervasive false information could not foster while going for the Rotary’s area of focus on Education and Literacy—it took the first step by pushing for this program. Through the UST Simabahayan Community Through esteemed speakers from the journalism industry and the academe, the project’s first phase tackled the ulterior motives of fake news for contemporary political, social, and economic climate—and how it can be critically countered and verified. It likewise underlined effective measures in combating misinformation and disinformation and its potential to promote genuine societal awareness and development. The panel of speakers for the first half of the event were Anthony Andrew Divinagracia of the UST Department of Political Science and Associate Professor Danilo Arao of the University of