I ADMIT it. I’m an addict...to Facebook, a social media nutcase, since 2009.
Admittedly, this is where I get ideas for columns, for getting in touch with friends, colleagues, long-lost relatives and friends here in Bacolod and elsewhere in the country and as far away as other Asian countries, Europe, the Americas and Africas.
We exchange notes, debate, even enjoy our laughs from funny memes. It helps me to evangelize, deepen my understanding of my Catholic faith, find an audience for my social criticism on social, political environmental and spiritual issues.
It has become our cheapest obit of people who has passed away to the great beyond.
Our Led television is virtually ignored in favor of my laptop and Android for the latest news and even researches.
The borderless world of the internet has becoming cramped as I interact with strangers that I won’t normally interact with but somehow has become my virtual friends.
As an Op-ed writer for this paper. I take it seriously that my opinions are backed up with facts or credible expert opinions.
Much as I try to be perfect, bum steers sometimes managed to worm inside my piece. For that, mea culpa.
I am thus gratified that Facebook, now my main source of information and opinions, is doing something about this sea of fake facts.
Last week, Facebook removed 200 pages and accounts created and organized by President Duterte’s social media manager in his 2016 campaign, Nic Gabunada.
The 200 pages and accounts found on Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook groups were taken down for the mushrooming of fake accounts—and fake news.
“[The pages] frequently posted about local and political news, including topics like the upcoming elections, candidate updates and views, alleged misconduct of political opponents, and controversial events that were purported to occur during previous administrations. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found that this activity was linked to a network organized by Nic Gabunada,” Facebook said in a blog post.
I like to think of myself as a scholar. I’m blessed to have some of my articles peer reviewed by Ivy-leagues scholars who reviewed my work with a fine-toothed comb and published by Cambridge University Press.
It would be embarrassing for me to quote from fake news. Thank you for your due diligence, Facebook. Fake news is the last thing the world of scholarship need.
bqsanc@yahoomail.com