BLOGGERS don't care about the truth? Stop blaming bloggers. Unfortunately, the bloggers who spread lies are the ones creating buzz. This has brought about the overgeneralizations about bloggers, especially when compared to journalists. But who passed on the lies? Government needs to review Section 12 of Republic Act (RA) 6713, otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees," especially in pronouncements. I have to remind government officials that they need to abide by Section 12 of RA 6713. Government or high public officials who peddle fake news, hate speech or historical distortion pass this on to die-hard supporters or bloggers who then create content and pass it off as news.
Coverage of Malacañang Palace by bloggers is not new. Before the June 30 presidential inauguration of then President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino 3rd, mainstream media covered all past Philippine inaugurations. What now appeared to be a blogging first, if not globally, at least within the Philippine blogosphere, was that our BlogWatch group (http://blogwatch.tv) got accredited to cover this event. The accreditation marked the first time that a blogger group was allowed to cover a presidential inauguration from start to finish. Even if the blogger accreditation under Aquino did not materialize, it wasn't a big deal. First, BlogWatch aim is not on news coverage. Second, I did not find the need to cover everything about the President. It was more important that the government listen to citizens and open avenues to engage and get feedback.
Continue reading with one of these options:
Ad-free access
P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
- Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
- Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)