There's still a year and a half before Filipinos and Lagunenses troop to the polling stations again to choose who will lead the Senate, the House of Representatives, the province, and their respective cities and municipalities for the next three years.
And yet it appears that this early, the ugly face of Laguna politics is once again poised to strike at the electorate.
This early – and let us emphasize this, this early – social media users are seeing a spike of anonymous social media pages dedicated to spreading black propaganda against incumbent and prospective local officials here in Laguna province.
Even for a province where fly-by-night "newspapers" carrying nothing but aspersions and allegations against certain officials have been part and parcel of every election period, this marks a new low in the conduct of our local politics.
More troubling is that this new trend comes at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) has proved to be very effective in creating fake news and even fake videos of personalities and it’s become impossible to distinguish the difference.
It’s still too early to tell whether those who wish to manipulate public perception here in Laguna province will jump to the AI bandwagon as a convenient tool to sway public opinion for or against candidates.
Here’s another thing to be concerned about a new wave of young voters will participate in the 2025 elections, and these young voters, while perceived to be more “makilatis” when it comes to online content, are sure to be bombarded with political social media content.
And in the Philippines, where social media literacy levels have raised concern among experts, the challenge now is how to guide these new voters on voting wisely, and how to distinguish between legitimate issues and black propaganda on social media.
Accusations against candidates, let’s face it, have become part and parcel of the Philippines’ political scene. But local media can play a vital role in helping voters see beyond the smokescreen of propaganda machines and judge who deserves to lead their constituencies in 2025.
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