When I was in elementary, I only viewed campus journalism in a competitive light. I was in it for a fun time, but not for a long time. I thought of the benefits it would yield for me, be it additional numbers for my report card that they call extra-curricular grades, potential crushes from my fellow contenders (because let’s be real here), or the gold-painted biscuits that they promise to hang on your neck as recognition of your writing prowess. Several years pass by and I am still an active campus journalist, but I couldn’t be more different than the version of myself from the past. Today I stand with my head up high, and my hand raised higher as I hold my pen and value its power; its strings of ink that shall inform, instill, and inspire.
The elections are almost within our reach. Campus journalists play a much more important role now than ever, as they are a means of channeling the truth and educating readers especially on encouraging people to properly exercise their democratic rights. Their dedication to writing, to fight for and to pursue the truth goes beyond trophies, medals, and certificates.
It is of great significance that a journalist involves him/herself with issues that continue to thrive in our communities. By voicing out, we shed a light to the concerns of the people, particularly those that are brushed off by those in power. Although, ‘voicing out’ does not necessarily imply that we use only words as a journalistic approach. Former Associate Editor for Internal Affairs as well as former Illustrators Head of The Freehand Jude Pevin Agbanlog describes illustrated journalism as something that unlike articles, “can briefly tell a story in just one or two looks at it; thus, there is no space for the possibility of misleading the readers.” He also stated that such illustrations should be able to grab the readers’ attention and engage them enough to finish the rest of the contents for efficient information dissemination. He quickly added, “However, there will always be times when the audience would only just look at the illustrations; so, we don’t want to leave wrong insights and misinform them. Illustrated Journalism’s power of storytelling in a single look is crucial, and as an illustrator I need to heed how my hand translates my thoughts to avoid misinforming the people.”
“Ika nga, masasabing uri ng aktibismo ang pamamahayag dahil dito, isinisiwalat mo ang mga mali sa sistema ng iyong coverage. We are the “watch dogs” of the campus, as we say it,” said former Editor-in-Chief of The Freehand, and Vice President of the CAFA Student Council, Rafael Salaguste. He is a part of the student publication for almost five years now, and although he finds adversity in his undying pursuit and passion for journalism, he also believes that “To understand the vital role of student journalism in a campus is already a strong foundation of why we continuously strive.” Jude Agbanlog also added to this saying that, “Student publications have the power and responsibility to spread unbiased and truthful information to empower the students in these trying times via social media platforms.” However, regardless of how campus journalism is progressing and being given the spotlight it very well deserves, there are still many who undermine it as a real news platform. This now begs the question: is campus journalism overlooked?
According to Agbanlog, generally speaking, Filipinos still seem to underestimate the value that campus journalism holds, and that this thinking roots from the fact that we are still “young” and may be prone to brainwashing -- which couldn’t be more untrue. “The world is rapidly becoming more advanced which leads to faster spread of fake news; and the younger generation is the best people to fight disinformation in these modern days. Student Journalists are capable. Campus Journalism is all-important,” he added. Just like Salaguste, he hopes for a future wherein the youth’s talents be nurtured and given their rightful place in “pacifying the modern disinformation-prone world by laying-out the truth.”
Journalism transcends school campuses; through it we unveil concerns and other adversaries in the community that are not given as much attention as they supposedly require. However, no matter how credible and well-researched the writers are, there are still people who see us as a podium only for acknowledging in-campus or campus-related events. “We are sometimes also under-appreciated lalong lalo na amongst the admins who we felt like they are treating us as medias who are covering events inside the school, and that’s it. We are more than just a microphone of those who wants us to cover their events, but should be the voice of minorities, of those who are oppressed, and repressed from their rights, and more,” said Agbanlog. As a closing note regarding this topic, Salaguste wishes to see more people place their trust on them, on us writers, and see them as another source of reliable information, because campus journalists are no different from media and activists.
Speaking of media, there we have some of the more prevalent terms currently: disinformation, misinformation, trolls, and fake news -- these words are certainly not unheard of. As a matter of fact, they have been rampant and persist to be more rampant as they see the light of day, spreading quick like linen catching fire. It is not as if this issue is unprecedented, but as of today, the number of falsehoods widespread all across either through mouth or the web -- to say that it is alarming is an understatement. According to Tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project led by the University of the Philippines, that as of November 2021 up to February 2022, they have identified at least 58 falsehoods or claims relating to martial law that either perpetuated misconceptions about the late dictator or downplayed the human rights crimes that happened during his 21-year reign. History revisionists put disinformation to use as a means to “erase or burnish the discreditable record of Marcos,” said Tsek.ph coordinators Yvonne Chua and Diosa Labiste. Not only that, but false narratives were also crafted in order to attempt to shed a red light on democracy icon and former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, on the flip side, giving Marcos positive false narratives. The same pattern can be observed today, as there are overwhelmingly negative disinformation targeting the current Vice President Leni Robredo; “unsurprising,” said Chua and Labiste. In this current climate wherein there is faltering integrity upon various media outlets, how do platforms such as student publications suffice or aid in the fight for the truth?
Our battle against disinformation still has a long way to go. If this is a play, then we are far from denouement; we have only just begun. The time wherein we, the youth make our voices loud and clear is now, and together we shall seek to let the truth prevail. Salaguste stated that while there are people who rely on unreliable news outlets, hopes that “we stop antagonizing them, but instead learn to patiently interact with them or encourage them how to properly fact check. It’s not their fault, it’s mostly the perpetrator’s fault why they have to release disinformation, or black propaganda, or any unreliable information to the public.” Meanwhile, Agbanlog leaves his humorous remark to them: “Hoy! Tama na kaka-Tiktok, Facebook, at YouTube! Masyado kayong nag-enjoy d’yan. Huwag i-apply pagiging Marites online in a macro level!” We, the youth, who are granted with the privilege to education, are expected to research accordingly, in order to check our facts -- If anything at all, are they really “facts”? However, while we students should be wary of falling victim to our own folly, it is also true that seeds of disinformation through time had buried its roots deep among the Filipino minds. To follow, Agbanlog mentioned that as student journalists, technically speaking, all they can really do is to keep on sharing factual information and news that are unbiased, however, he asserted that it is not enough. “What we, the Filipino people, need to do is to vote for leaders who can make the people behind these social media sites accountable to the fake news that they allow to spread on their platforms,” he stated. He pushes that it is necessary that a law be passed that answers the recurring issue that is disinformation all across social media, and so, our part is to vote wisely and pick a leader who is most competent and open-minded. “When social media sites are held accountable to the spread of fake news, they will certainly improve their systems and filter the contents being posted, and hopefully only leave out the truth,” Agbanlog concluded.
“The campus is a society of the youth that can be transformed to a haven of disinformation and fake news. The youth is the hope of the nation; hence, we cannot allow lies to mold them,” said Agbanlog. Meanwhile, Salaguste stated that, “being part of The Freehand, we have these core values which are to inform, to instill, and to inspire.” Not only is it the journalist’s obligation, but also ours as Filipinos. Many have been polarized by disinformation -- the people behind these have successfully incited politically charged hatred in the hearts of the less informed. This is our call to action. We as citizens must exercise our right to speak truth to power, stand by this truth and call out falsehoods, like those passed onto others online and suspicious “news sources” to name a few. During these times, we must remain vigilant, we shall hold those perpetrators accountable for their actions, and finally, we must choose wisely who to vote as the next leaders of our country.
Remember that the seeds we plant today will determine what we reap tomorrow.
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