Ateneo Policy Center researcher presents paper on fake news at 2023 PPSA

On June 8 2023, Ateneo Policy Center Research Associate Gaby Mendoza presented the working paper entitled ‘Misinformed or Overconfident? Fake News Susceptibility and Youth Voting Likelihood in the Philippines’ at the 2023 Philippine Political Science Association International Conference held in Iloilo City. 

Co-authored with Dr. Imelda B. Deinla, Kier Jesse Ballar, and Jurel Yap, the paper reevaluates the link between fake news susceptibility and voting. The Philippines is an interesting case where fake news fueled a highly emotional and participative electoral campaign season. This is despite conventional knowledge of fake news as a threat to political participation. Using an online survey of 23,996 college and university students from the Pinoy Voters’ Vibe (PVV) Academic Consortium, they found that the power of online mis-/dis-/mal-information does not solely lie in the people’s belief in false political narratives but also in their misplaced confidence in these narratives. Youth respondents were more likely to translate their views into actions by voting when they are confident in their ability to detect fake news, informed, trusting of mainstream media, and perceive widespread fake news online. They were also less likely to vote when they approve of the President and are susceptible to believing in fake news. 

The problem with online misinformation therefore seems to be twofold. On one hand, it peddles false information to favor those with the means to manipulate the social media landscape. On the other hand, it cultivates a sense of confidence that drives people to rally around them. This is something that both scholars and policymakers should keep in mind when formulating solutions to the country’s infodemic.  

The working paper may be accessed in this link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4064584 

To know more about the research conducted by the Ateneo Policy Center, see: https://www.ateneo.edu/asog/ateneo-policy-center/research-materials/working-papers