Defeated Presidential Candidate Leni Robredo   Mulls Legal Action Against Whom She Claims as Fake News Peddlers Who Defame Her

By Edward Era Barbacena

Source: Philstar

Vice President Leni Robredo’s spokesman Barry Gutierrez said groups of lawyers are studying the filing of a lawsuit against those who continue to spread disinformation and social media platforms that host these materials.

The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo is considering taking legal action against those who spread disinformation on social media after her term of office ends on June 30 to address the proliferation of fake news, her spokesperson disclosed on Sunday, June 19.

In the Vice President’s weekly radio program, lawyer Barry Gutierrez said a major initiative would be launched to address the proliferation of fake news and lies on social media, noting that this kind of trend is detrimental to democracy and public discourse.

“It is clear that we will do some actions to fight and respond to fake news. In the coming weeks, we will have some announcements on what to do to stop the lies on social media,” Gutierrez stressed in Filipino.

He said groups of lawyers are studying the filing of a lawsuit against those who continue to spread disinformation and social media platforms that host these materials.

He explained that the action to be taken is not only for Robredo, but also for victims of disinformation on social media.

He noted that this is part of legal initiatives and the advocacy to bring out the truth and foster discussions based on facts and not based on fake news.

Robredo claims she is the top target and biggest victim of disinformation. 

University of the Philippines journalism professor Yvonne Chua said during a recent hearing held by the Senate constitutional amendments and revision of codes committee in February that most instances of disinformation on social media platforms are directed against Robredo.