EP 18: Combating disinformation in 2022 elections

They say that if you’re not happy with how this country is being run, then go out and vote in 2022. 

Pick the candidate who’ll bring about the change you want, not the politician who’ll give you more of the same. 

For instance, if you think the current government has been incompetent in handling the pandemic, then pick the competent ones on the ballot. 

If you’re passionate about human rights, then go for candidates who truly respect human lives. make no room for human rights violators and those who condone senseless killings.

The choices may be easy — but not really because as they say, politics is perception. 

Somewhere in between voters and candidates is a vast space where political strategists and media operators work their magic during election campaigns. 

It doesn’t matter if a candidate sucks— what’s important is he and his handlers can convince people to vote for him, mainly through well-funded self-marketing and media packaging.

This is where disinformation thrives — as we saw in 2016 and again during the midterm elections in 2019 candidates investing huge money on social media campaigns. 

This is where much of the battle is waged the digital space where troll farms, for instance, flourish regardless of one’s side in the political arena.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to campaign strategist Alan German and disinformation researcher Prof. Jonathan Ong about how big and more vicious the problem with disinformation has become and what we all need to do to make sure these agents of disinformation won’t control the campaign narrative and influence our decisions come election day.