NBI monitoring 20 vloggers for spreading fake news online

MANILA, Philippines — About 20 vloggers accused of spreading fake news online are being probed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Two people are already facing arrest warrants, the NBI said Monday.

Charges of cyberlibel and inciting to sedition could be filed against the vloggers, NBI director Jaime Santiago noted.

A vlogger based in the United States is under surveillance, he said.

“Some people take this lightly, saying they have freedom of speech and expression, but those freedoms are not absolute,” Santiago maintained.

“When you exceed the boundaries of the law and commit a crime, we have to take action,” he said.

Embarrassment

Meanwhile, House officials said it was “embarrassing and humiliating” that the proliferation of fake news in the country peaked when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“The sheer volume of disinformation is not just disturbing – it’s humiliating. It’s a national embarrassment... a global shame,” La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said.

Ortega cited false narratives spread by Duterte’s former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, who claimed that Duterte was missing and the ICC was not providing him medical attention.

Fact checking group Vera Files has reported that pro-Duterte disinformation surrounding his arrest has been spreading across Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also condemned fake news claiming the Supreme Court received a petition for President Marcos’ resignation.

“This is a blatant act of deception, meant to sow confusion and disrupt our nation,” he said.

Adiong lauded the high court for debunking the fabricated document and vowed full support for efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.

ICC Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc has also been the target of fake news linking her to the Marcos family, among others.

Campaign vs fake news

A campaign to track fake news purveyors is being discussed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and NBI.

DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said he met with NBI’s Santiago on Monday to discuss the campaign.

“The DICT has no police powers, but what we have are certain tools to monitor what’s happening on the internet,” he told dzBB.

Officials of the National Telecommunications Commission also attended the meeting.

Dy said the meeting will be expanded to include other state agencies that can help in tracking down content creators, erring content and social media sites used in spreading fake news.

Social media platforms, he said, should be held accountable for failing to protect people from fake news and content generated by artificial intelligence.

The monetization system of social media platforms, such as YouTube and Meta, is incentivizing content creators to spread fake news, he noted.

No charges

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre will not file charges against people spreading fake news about him and other police officials.

“It’s part of the job. No worries. We can handle it,” he said.

Torre on March 12 led the contingent of the Philippine National Police in enforcing the ICC arrest warrant against Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity stemming from his bloody war on drugs.

Deputized anti-crime investigators are being retrained to study the financial transactions of troll farms, Torre said.

“We are closely examining troll farms as a key aspect of our investigations, not just in elections but also in broader governance issues, especially in the current landscape. Their influence has become increasingly evident, particularly in the aftermath of recent controversial operations,” Torre said.  – Delon Porcalla, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rainier Allan Ronda