Young people use social media apps on their mobile phones and computers as they attend  the forum, Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive: Case Study of Percy Lapid Mabasa, at the CMC Auditorium Plaridel Hall UP Diliman Quezon City on October 3, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA -- An analyst on Saturday warned that the country's problem on misinformation "could get worse" amid the upcoming midterm elections and urged the public to practice critical thinking when encountering politically-charged social media posts.

Prof. Renato de Castro, an international relations expert at the De La Salle University, said the political divide from the social media personalities' posts might be part of a "cognitive warfare." 

"Expect it to be worse. Tinitingnan lang natin 'tong vloggers na ito as individuals. Ang question doon, sino ba ang nasa likod nila? What makes them focused on vlogging?" said De Castro. 

"They might also be part…of cognitive warfare lalo na't may issue tayo om the west philippine sea, we cannot discount politics, we cannot discount the fact na may strategy. May malice yan, they are being backed by a state actor that has all the resources, and has the strategic mindframe, and of course the goal, the goal is to demoralize, to create division," he added. 

Aside from this, the analyst described the Philippines as a strategic geopolitical position, which was why "elections do really matter."

This was why he said the public should be vigilant when encountering social media posts. 

"Titingnan mo ang news saan yan nanggagaling and pangalawa is critical thinking. 'Yan din ang i-impart natin sa educational system regarding how do we determine the truth? Na we don't accept things as they are. We have to look into the motive, we have to subject it sa internal or external criticism," he said. 

"Nakita natin last election in Taiwan, kung paano nag-apply ang Tsina ng cognitive warfare to influence the ordinary Taiwanese. That is very crucial, lalo na part tayo ng geopolitical game na nangyayari ngayon," he said. 

On Friday, several social media personalities attended a hearing on fake news and trolls at the House of Representatives, where they apologized and admitted to some faults.

Lawmakers criticized some of their politically-charged posts on social media, which they described as bordering on unverified information.

READ: Content creators say sorry during House hearing on fake news

During the same hearing, former Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Sec. Trixie Cruz-Angeles admitted that Filipino social media influencers have attended a state-sponsored seminar in China. The Chinese government allegedly covered all expenses of the vloggers, mostly pro-Duterte social media influencers, according to Cruz-Angeles.

FULL STORY: China funded seminar for Filipino social media influencers, ex-PCO chief admits

Meanwhile, a recent SWS survey commissioned by Stratbase Group revealed that 59 percent of Filipinos considered the spread of fake news on social media to be a serious issue, while 20 percent believed it was not serious. 

READ: 'Ikaw ang t****a': Lawmaker calls out vlogger over misinformation

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