Trust in news in the Philippines plummeted by 10 points in 2026, the steepest decline among all 48 markets covered by this year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report (DNR), amid deep political divisions, sustained attacks on the media and a continued shift toward social media, video platforms, creators and AI tools. Only 28% of Filipino...
Category: Media
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Asking the question we’d rather avoid
The traditional newsroom is under siege, and the invaders aren’t just algorithms—they are individuals with smartphones and opinions. According to the latest insights from the Reuters Institute, 2026 marks a tipping point where generative AI and human “influencers” are squeezing traditional media institutions into a corner of perceived irrelevance. We are moving away from the...
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16 years on, the Maguindanao massacre continues to provide lessons to campus journalists
PILI, CAMARINES SUR—Journalism student Jevan Dex Miranda was a child when the inconceivable happened: bodies unearthed by a backhoe, families grieving while searching for their loved ones, and headlines marking the Philippines as the setting of the deadliest single attack on journalists in world history. Miranda was among the students, human rights advocates and media...
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Here are 5 ways to detect pro-China propaganda
Last March, several prominent pro-Duterte vloggers and influencers admitted in a congressional hearing that they had attended a China-funded training seminar in 2023. Former presidential communications secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed that she and bloggers Mark Lopez, Tio Moreno, Philstar.com columnist Pia Morato, and lawyer Ahmed Paglinawan took part in a two-week program in Beijing run...
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Five ways the Duterte influence machine is deceiving Filipinos
Just five months ago, thousands of Duterte supporters were trashing the Supreme Court on Facebook, calling it “useless” and demanding that it act against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest. Now these same supporters are singing a very different tune—praising the high court as “fair and just” after a July 25 decision declaring Vice President Sara...
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PCIJ series on Philippine political dynasties wins Sopa Award for excellence
The political dynasty reports of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) won an Award for Excellence at the 2025 Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) annual Awards for Editorial Excellence. “This is an excellent series on how family dynasties dominate politics in the Philippines. It goes beyond the best-known examples to show how the...
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When ‘dinosaurs’ peopled the Inquirer, they made it No. 1
A tempest in a teacup has been stirred by someone who attributed to “dinosaurs” the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s purported bumbling journey to digital. He appeared to be singing a dirge for it in a chest-thumping report that was run on June 30, timed for the next-day management transition of the No. 1 newspaper from its corporate...
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Filipino concern over online disinformation hits record high–Digital News Report 2025
Concern over online mis- and disinformation in the Philippines climbed to a record 67% in early 2025 amid a politically charged midterm election season that saw Vice President Sara Duterte impeached on corruption charges and former president Rodrigo Duterte arrested by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity tied to his brutal “war on...
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AI fakery rises, but cheapfakes still rule the race
AI-manipulated videos and audio have emerged as a growing disinformation tactic ahead of Monday’s midterm elections—more frequent, more targeted and more deceptive. Despite their rise, simpler manipulations, or shallowfakes, remain the more widespread threat, continuing to dominate the misinformation landscape flagged by fact-checkers. Out of 35 unique altered claims identified by partners of the fact-checking coalition Tsek.ph during the Feb....
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Phantom banks, shaky claims undercut viral report on Marcos gold
Documents circulating online that purport to expose a $100-billion money laundering scheme involving the Marcos family’s alleged 350 metric tons of gold are riddled with red flags including references to fictitious banks, dubious account numbers, and formatting anomalies inconsistent with how illicit wealth is typically hidden. Screenshots of the documents accompanied a report that first...