THE Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced on Wednesday the creation of an Anti-Fake News Desk aimed at giving the government’s campaign against disinformation and misinformation more teeth, and holding accountable purveyors of so-called fake news. PCO Secretary Dave Gomez made the announcement during the agency’s ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding with media outlets held at the Presidential Broadcast Service Studio in Malacañang. The Anti-Fake News Desk is a dedicated mechanism where citizens can report suspicious or misleading content. “We will immediately evaluate these reports and refer them to the appropriate agencies, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Justice, among others, for prompt and proper action,” Gomez said. “Beyond monitoring, the PCO will actively go after those who deliberately peddle fake news and disinformation on social media platforms. We will engage and collaborate with platforms such as Meta and Google, seeking their cooperation and assistance in addressing coordinated disinformation campaigns and ensuring accountability in the digital space,” he added. Apart from this endeavor, the PCO also tapped the nine leading newspaper publishers — The Manila Times, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star, Inquirer, Manila Standard, Malaya Business Insight, Business Mirror, Business World and Daily Tribune — to ensure the public gets only vetted and reliable information. The parties committed to upholding accurate, verified and responsible reporting while maintaining full respect for press freedom and editorial independence. As stated in the memorandum of understanding, “fake news” is defined as having “no factual basis or is materially misleading but is presented as truthful; is deliberately created or shared to deceive, and is capable of causing identifiable public harm such as panic, violence, reputational damage or interference in democratic processes.” “Disinformation thrives in darkness — in confusion, in distortion, in deliberate deceit. But truth has always been like daylight. And just as a magnifying glass focuses sunlight to reveal what is hidden, this collaboration concentrates the light of verified information, sharpening clarity and exposing falsehoods. In shining that light, we dispel the shadows where fake news attempts to hide,” Gomez said. Among the agreement’s key objectives are enhancing the dissemination of verified information, strengthening public trust in credible media institutions, promoting media and information literacy, and enabling coordinated and rapid responses to disinformation during crises, emergencies and disasters. By forging an agreement with the “nation’s most credible and respected news organizations,” Gomez vowed “to open communication channels for verifying social media claims, exercising prudence to curb the spread of fabricated content.” “And we will join forces on media literacy initiatives, empowering Filipinos to discern fact from fiction,” he said. Representing and signing in behalf of their respective publications were Anna Marie Ang-Thompson, chief executive officer, The Manila Times; Herminio Coloma Jr., publisher, Manila Bulletin; Rolando Estabillo, publisher, Manila Standard; Paolo Prieto, president and chief executive officer, Philippine Daily Inquirer; Teresa Mendoza, senior vice president, The Philippine Star; T. Anthony Cabangon, publisher, Business Mirror; Arjay Balinbin, associate editor, Business World; Luisito Lozada, executive editor, Daily Tribune; and Allen A. Macasaet, publisher and chairman, Malaya Business Insight. Ang-Thompson pledged The Manila Times’ “logistical might to ensure that the public will have a beacon of verified, actionable and life-saving information” that the public can trust. “We all share a common reality: our ink is only as strong as the public’s trust in it,” she said. “May this cooperation serve the people by ensuring that facts remain the foundation of our national conversation,” she added.