Whose story are you sharing? Workshop tackles West Philippine Sea disinformation
The Center for Information Resilience and Integrity Studies (CIRIS) brought together media practitioners and content creators on November 8 at Ayala Museum for a workshop on identifying and responding to disinformation about the West Philippine Sea.
Titled “MURKY WATERS: Navigating Disinformation, Social Media Sharing and Influence in the West Philippine Sea,” the workshop used interactive challenges and hands-on verification exercises to help participants check claims, recognize misleading narratives and share information responsibly.
“We want Filipinos to move from being informed to being involved—not only on the West Philippine Sea, but on issues that shape our communities and our country. That starts with checking facts and understanding context, then helping others recognize manipulation and taking part in community discussions and initiatives. Media practitioners and content creators can help turn awareness into meaningful participation. That is how we build civic resilience: people who think critically, look out for one another, and act on what they know,” said CIRIS Executive Director Michel André P. del Rosario.
Through West Philippine Sea scenarios, participants examined how information can be stripped of context, repackaged and amplified across news and social media platforms. They also practiced tracing claims to their sources, checking independent evidence and identifying missing context before deciding whether to share or respond.
Educational content creator Larc Varona said the workshop introduced him to tools he could use to verify information online. “They gave us a very good list of what to do once we see something that we think is not real. They provided a lot of tools, for example, checking images first through reverse image searches to see if they’re actually correct. As an educational content creator, we have to do fact-checking,” he said.
The sessions also covered recurring signs of manipulation and possible responses, including pausing, verifying, reporting and correcting misleading information. Participants were encouraged to develop a practical action they could carry out within 30 days in their communities.
Content creator Carlos Benipayo said he would be more mindful of how he engages with information he does not have time to verify. “If you don’t have time to dig deeper into whether the content is real or misinformed, or if there’s a disinformation agenda behind it, what we can do best is to just stop, don’t engage with it, and don’t propagate that information so that nobody else ends up in a bad situation. That’s what I’ll be doing also, and I’ll be more aware of it as well,” he said.
The workshop complements CIRIS’ advocacy reality series Pusong Bayani, which highlights Filipino communities and individuals whose lives and livelihoods are connected to the West Philippine Sea.
Watch the series on the Pusong Bayani YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PusongBayaniPH.
