Fake News in the Post-Truth Age: An Exploratory Study on How University of the Philippines - Manila, College of Arts and Sciences (UPM-CAS) Youth Respond to Partisan Mis/Disinformation on Facebook during the 2022 National Presidential Election (February - May 2022)

Abstract

This exploratory study sought to understand the existence of partisan mis/disinformation by examining how the UPM-CAS youth respond to fake news and why. Using a mixed-methods approach in an exploratory-sequential design and combining results from a survey involving 316 respondents with a series of interviews with 12 participants, this study found that the plurality response among Facebook users from the University of the Philippines Manila - College of Arts and Sciences is to report fake news posts so it gets removed. The findings of this study focused on the period of the 2022 National Presidential Election from February to May 2022 which was a significant time for the country because it opened the political sphere to digital disinformation which hugely affected the electoral process, especially on Facebook. The researchers also found the impact of the youth’s responses to the existence of fake news on Facebook. This study concludes that the plurality of the respondents choose the option of reporting the post so it gets removed as the most viable option in eradicating the proliferation of fake news. Furthermore, it also reveals that there is a significant correlation between being a UP student and the respondents’ perception of social issues such as fake news and the way they respond to it. considering that they make up the majority of the voters during the 2022 elections.