This paper synthesizes insights from roundtables and focus group discussions organized by the FEU Public Policy Center (FEU PPC) on the pressing challenges of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation in the Philippines. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, it serves as a discussion document aimed at surfacing diverse perspectives, identifying key challenges, and fostering cross-sectoral dialogue.
The spread of harmful content is propelled by intertwined factors, including digital platform architectures and business models that incentivize virality, user behaviors shaped by cognitive biases and cultural norms, and political and economic actors that exploit these vulnerabilities. In the Philippine context, these dynamics are
further intensified by the country’s exceptionally high social media penetration, enduring deficits in media and digital literacy, and a deeply polarized political environment.