The Polytechnic University of the Philippines Circle of Research Enthusiasts (PUP CORE) successfully kicked off the fourth series of “Sayutsot 2024: Lekturang Rustica C. Carpio” aligned with the celebration of Communication Research Month at the PUP COC Audio-Visual Room on May 14.
Esteemed professors at the university lead the program carrying the theme “Philippine Theater,” which centered on the world of theater and arts and its crucial role in society and the country within the research context.
The program began with a discussion led by James Harvey Estrada, a professor, art specialist, and producer, where he tackled his lecture on“Artist in the Post-Truth Era.”
Fake news in the modern era
Estrada described the term “fake news” as “propaganda,” which was created to manipulate and alter the understanding and perception of the masses regarding social issues.
Estrada then identified the comments and opinions of politician and singer Mocha Uson as a prime example of propaganda and the country's top peddler of fake news. In 2020, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division filed numerous cases against Uson for spreading fake news on social media platforms.
Additionally, he expounds why fake news is a form of “empowerment” on something that is not truly powerful. For him, this kind of news gives power to an object or issue leading to various effects on the masses.
“They [fake news peddlers] need to have this kind of power to eventually push their agenda, have this kind of authority, and all of a sudden people are just following,” he stated.
He examples how Filipinos view Russia as a very powerful country, but it is merely a facade for those living in European countries.
“Kailangan nating buksan ‘yung isip natin kung sino nga ba ‘yung tunay na makapangyarihan at sino ‘yung nagpapanggap lamang na makapangyarihan,” he added.
Estrada also shared how journalists like them struggled to fight against it, especially during the pandemic when the spread of various news about the pandemic was rampant.
Theater operations during the pandemic
Estrada narrates how he and his co-performers managed theater preparations by conducting monthly meetings using online video conferencing like Zoom, and how they carried out their fake news research film project even without Estrada’s physical presence.
“Gusto kong pumunta [sa New York] pero wala akong kakayahan. So, sabi ko, what if we try to create a performance experiment in social media,” Estrada proposed to conduct the project without going to New York.
In this experiment, Estrada pretended to fly to New York through video clips taken by the production team from the first person’s point of view, dubbing his voice onto these clips to make it appear he was taking them.
The film project, “Tell Me What You See,” live-streamed for 24 hours on a social media platform and was supported by the Arts Council Korea. Due to the project’s triumph, it created another version focused on the widespread fake news in Asian countries.
The lecture concluded with Estrada reading a piece he wrote entitled “The Legend of Fake News” and continued to remind people to be perceptive on what to believe.
Article: Raven Gabriel Cruz
Graphics: Lourence Angelo Marcellana
(Photo by Hazelyn Faith Silverio/The Communicator)
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