EDITORIAL — Fake news strikes again

Just recently, the hopes of some Diehard Duterte Supporters were revived after reports surfaced in social media that former president Rodrigo Duterte was on his way home from detention in The Hague.

One report was accompanied by a photo of the former president, gaunt yet looking relieved, seated in what appeared to be a row in a private jet on his way home. Another photo has him already at the airport in a wheelchair.

But that wasn’t true. His trial is proceeding as planned. He’s still in detention and isn’t going home anytime soon.

Of course, it caused a lot of heartbreak because the photos were spread by many to many in social media.

We don’t know if the photos were the work of someone who desperately wanted it to come true, or by someone who just wanted to make fools of the former president’s supporters, but what’s sure is that fake news has struck again.

The former president wasn’t the only victim of fake news recently. After an actress visited the family of a motorcycle rider stabbed dead by his passenger in Caloocan City last month, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro allegedly criticized her actions in a social media post.

That post was also found to be manufactured, Undersecretary Castro never said anything about the incident.

We have said before that being able to spot a fake photo or video is now a needed skill. But even that might not be enough anymore. Deepfake technology has advanced to such a level that it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s real and fake.

The best thing we can do is consult multiple sources. Reliable news sources, that is. Avoid interest groups that have a reason to advance their own interests.

If the report comes from just one source, take it with a grain of salt. The more sources confirm the report then the better chances of it being true.

Again, it’s important to not believe everything we see on social media immediately, let alone spread it. Wrong information is dangerous and can actually be used as a weapon for those who want to achieve certain nefarious objectives.