MANILA, Philippines – Campaigns in the last few election cycles have been increasingly done online. The downside of that is, social media presence has also become a way for candidates and political parties to skirt the limits and regulations that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) enforces.
For the 2025 national and local elections, as well as the Bangsamoro parliamentary polls, the Comelec will attempt to address this loophole in the monitoring process. It will require the candidates and parties to register their social media accounts and administrators with the commission.
In this initiative to scan the internet for potential disinformation and abuse in relation to campaigns and elections, what challenges should the poll body and election watchdogs expect?
Whose help has the Comelec enlisted to have lies and propaganda taken down quickly once they’re spotted? How will it clamp down on troll farms and coordinated inauthentic behavior? How can concerned voters help monitor these?
Rappler managing editor Miriam Grace A. Go takes these up with Attorney Lour Alcain, the chief of staff of Commissioner Nelson Celis, whose office is in charge of the anti-disinformation Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan. Catch Ask Your Comelec on Monday, October 14, at 6 pm. – Rappler.com
