TROLLS could soon experience starvation, as Sen. Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva seeks to penalize those who feed them—with fines ranging from P100,000 to P5 million and jail time of one to five years.
Senate Bill 1492 filed by Villanueva on Wednesday seeks that any entity found guilty of creating and/or spreading false news in print, broadcast or social media shall be penalized, with public officials receiving stiffer punishments for the act.
In a statement published on the senator’s web site, he said even seasoned reporters could fall prey when being fed false or unverified information by those who are, supposedly, their most credible sources—public officials.
“It is very irresponsible for public officials to speak on things that remain to be seen—things that are yet to be verified. It has to stop,” he added.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre had earlier linked members of the opposition to the recent Maute attacks in Marawi. For this, Villanueva said in a statement: “I think he should apologize.”
Despite Villanueva’s pronouncements that established media could also be “victims” of fake news, the bill he proposed makes it clear they are not exempted from the punishments lined up. In fact, he proposed “any mass-media enterprise or social-media platform that fails, neglects or refuses to remove false news will be penalized with a fine ranging from P10 million to P20 million, and imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years”.
He also proposed that any person who merely aids in the creation and spread of false news will be hit with fines ranging from P50,000 to P3 million, and 6 months to 3 years of jail time.
Also joining the cause against fake news is the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that, on Wednesday, issued a “pastoral exhortation against fake news” entitled “Consecrate them in the truth”.
In the statement signed by CBCP President Socrates B. Villegas, the Catholic bishops said, “Crucial decisions—personal and social—depend on the accurate grasp of facts.”
“Alternative facts” and “fake news” engender faulty descisions many times with disastrous long-term consequences to persons and to communities. Sadly, we see this happening today. There are persons who have given themselves to the service of reporting who reported what never happened, concealing what really happened and distorting what should be presented in a straightforward manner,” it added.
Citing how social media has now become the “unfortunate site” of “alternative facts” and “fake news” after originally showing great potential in democraticizing expression and truth, the CBCP said it “heeds its faithful to refrain in patronizing sources of fake news, to rebut falsehood when in possession of facts and data, to refuse to be part of those who further purvey fake news and to identify sources of false news in order to aid the public in finding out “which media and which sites to shun”.