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2 lawmakers filed a bill that seeks penalties for creating or spreading fake news

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House Bill 2971 was filed to amend the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 by criminalizing the creation and dissemination of fake news.
2 lawmakers filed a bill that seeks penalties for creating or spreading fake news
 Josephine "Jaye" Lacson-Noel of the Malabon party list is one of the co-authors of the bill (Photo from GMA News)

To include fake news created and disseminated by online trolls

Under the proposed bill, Representatives Josephine "Jaye" Lacson-Noel of Malabon and Florencio Noel of An-Waray party-list are seeking to punish publishers of fake news by deeming such offenses a cybercrime. The authors, who are husband and wife, added in a note explaining the rationale behind this measure:

It cannot be stressed enough that nowadays, people have been repeatedly misinformed about what they consider to be data and facts through the advent of "fake news". Not even credible sources like media outlets and broadcast stations were spared the false information spread out by paid trolls to distort the truth and deliberately mislead people to think the opposite of what is actually happening

House Bil 2971 bill defines fake news as "misinformation and disinformation of stories, facts, and news which is presented as a fact, the veracity of which cannot be confirmed, to distort the truth and mislead its audience."
Fake news as defined by the House Bill 2971
Fake news as defined by the House Bill 2971

Allegedly, the amendment of Section 3 will include the creation and dissemination of fake news committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.

Moreover, the authors of the bill that there are 2 types of fake news: misinformation and disinformation. According to Professor Clarissa David of the College of Mass Communication of the University of the Philippines, misinformation is unintentionally disseminated on online platforms with no propaganda while the latter is considered produced for political ends.

The lawmakers believe that both forms must be punished since they poison the mindset of Filipino citizens by twisting the truth. Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts shall be punished with imprisonment for six years and one day to twelve years or a fine of at least PHP 200,000.


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