Angels and Demons

How the Media will Dictate the 2022 Presidential Election

The media and its importance in human history are beyond compare and through the years, it has been changing and developing. It provided us entertainment and communication, but the noblest thing that media has ever done is its role in making sure that the voters elect the right candidate and as the Philippines’ 17th Presidential Election comes nearer and nearer, the media is under pressure for the vital role it is playing.

The election period is the time were politicians and candidates are hot in the eyes of the media; whenever and wherever they are, the media is also there. Every move is being filmed, every word is being recorded and some people may think the media is unnecessary but what they do not realize is why the media do this - for transparency. Transparency is a fundamental core during elections (National Democratic Institute, 2013). To achieve this, the media acts as a watchdog during the elections process. The media can catch violations, malicious acts, and cheating is done by any candidate; its presence helps in having an assurance that the whole process of election from the campaign to the end maintains democracy and fairness (ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, 2013). As the media urge transparency among the candidates and the election itself, it also yields information to the public.

Information plays an essential duty in our everyday lives because it stimulates our curiosity and inquiry, aside from giving us data. The channeling of information has gone bigger than ever as the World Wide Web gains popularity and the sources of information gain more power (Kleit, n.d.). People can use the media’s different tools to make sure that the public will make decisions with enough amount of knowledge that they have gained (ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, 2013). According to the “Magic Bullet Theory”, the ideas that the media shots at the people reading, watching, or listening can go into their heads unconsciously and that will result in action and thinking changes (Wroblewski, 2018). A particular type of media that can do this is social media and the internet which cannot only be a platform for knowledge sharing about electoral candidates, but candidates can also use them as a campaign platform.

In 2016, social media especially Facebook, played a game-changing role in the last weeks before the election. It was used both in good and bad ways, whether it is used in educating the public about their platforms, showing the public the great projects and laws that they created, delivering speeches or making fun of other candidates in exposing their dirty secrets and spreading fake news (Buenaobra, 2016). The Philippines is the most social country according to Opera Mini in 2015 (Gonzales, 2015). With this, it is clear that social media plays an important role in the Philippines’ 2022 Elections, the country’s second social media election following the first one in 2016 (Buenaobra, 2016).

The media, particularly social media, is not only a platform for candidates but also for voters. It can be a channel for them to share their thoughts about the candidates, create a debate on who should be the next president and create surveys and polls that could determine which candidate have a high chance of winning, and communicate with the candidate they are supporting (ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, 2013). In 2008, US Former President Barack Obama used different social media sites to effectively engage and communicate with the people. As a result, he became the first person to defeat Republican candidate as an African American (Obama and the power of Social Media and Technology, 2009).

In the Philippines, social media is very powerful (Quitzon, 2021). The percentage of Filipinos who have access to social media is about 90% (Tapsell, 2020). Although it had been used in many moral ways, it was also being used to do very terrible things. The rise of the online world has created worry that mis- and disinformation will intensify, commonly known as “fake news” (Mendoza, Deinla, & Yap, 2021). Long before the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC), fake news about the candidate has been going around, and after the filing, it went on full blast (Argosino, 2021). Vice President Leni Robredo, also a presidential candidate, said that differently from the standard media, where information and news cannot be released unless verified and any spread of fake news can be called to action, in social media users can create fake accounts, spread fake news and not hold any responsibility (Lalu, 2022).

The media, and social media, in particular, can be used in good and bad things. It is under pressure for the duties that it is serving during this election period. The media not only serve as a tool for information dissemination but also as a watchdog, a campaign platform, and a place for the public to debate about their candidates. Aside from these, the media, with the arising of social media, has also been a place for fake news with people spreading mis- and disinformation. In the Philippine 2022 Presidential election, the media will surely show its power whether in an angelic or in a demonic way. However, the people have greater power than the media, and that is to choose the next leader or the country and the next six years of the Filipino people's lives.

VOTE WISELY!

OH HEY, FOR BEST VIEWING, YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR PHONE