Comelec to combat fake news

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is prepared to protect the integrity of next year’s national polls despite threats of foreign interference, a top official of the polling body said on Thursday, citing an election resolution that would empower it to curb the spread of disinformation.

Comelec chief George Erwin M. Garcia said that a resolution providing regulatory guidelines on social media and artificial intelligence would be sufficient in combating disinformation from fake news peddlers.

He noted, however, that the National Security Council (NSC) is yet to meet with the election agency to discuss measures thwarting potential disinformation campaigns led by foreign actors.

“We will fight disinformation. We will fight fake news and other kinds of malicious information destroying the credibility of what we are doing here,” he told reporters after a forum.

“We have yet to receive formal communication from the National Security Council, but we know what they had stated before,” he added, referring to a warning from the security agency flagging potential foreign-led disinformation campaign on the 2025 polls.

NSC Assistant Director-General and spokesman Jonathan E. Malaya in a TV interview in March said the agency is “sounding the alarm” on possible attempts of foreign actors to influence the elections through disinformation and electronic interference. “It could be as subtle as troll farms or disinformation.”

Mr. Malaya did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio