Filipinos are aware that misinformation widely circulates in social media platforms like Facebook, but analysis of WR Numero’s data on media use reveals people continue to consume these platforms as they have become inseparable from their social and civic life.
In the latest article of WR Numero’s Public Opinion Letters, data from the March 2024 Philippine Public Opinion Monitor were used to examine Filipinos’ perceptions on misinformation, media bias, and fact-checking. The Public Opinion Letters is a regular series of research articles that provide in-depth analysis of data and trends in Philippine public opinion and its study.
About 62% of Filipinos use Facebook daily–the highest among any platforms in the March 2024 survey. At the same time, Facebook also emerged as the most distrusted news source in the country, with 39% identifying it as the platform they trust the least, followed by TikTok at 24%.
By contrast, television is the most trusted news source in the country by a wide margin (50%). Still, shifting consumption habits among younger generations appear to be reshaping the country’s media landscape, as television reach dropped from 66% in 2020 to 46% in 2024.
WR Numero Senior Research Associate Buboy Figueroa said these findings reflect the “quiet contradiction” of everyday media life for millions of Filipinos. Rather than indicating ignorance about misinformation, Figueroa argued that this problem is “built into the platforms people cannot afford to leave, and the habits that have quietly formed around them.”
Views on misinformation, media credibility
Nearly 2 in 3 (63%) Filipinos believe misinformation is prevalent. Among all generations, Millennials (71%) and Gen Zs (66%) express the greatest concern about the spread of fake news in the country.
These generations are also the most engaged on digital platforms, indicating how pervasive misinformation has become in their daily lives.
Skepticism also extends to traditional media platforms. The majority of Filipinos (55%) also think journalists are biased and have vested interests. Younger Filipinos–Millennials (63%) and Gen Zs (57%)–recorded the highest level of skepticism across cohorts.
Conversely, older Filipinos, whose media habits developed before the rise of social media and influencers as sources of news, appear more inclined to give journalists the benefit of the doubt. Less than half of the Silent Generation (35%), Baby Boomers (49%), and Gen X (48%) agree that journalists are biased.
What remains consistent across generations, however, is the need for fact-checking to verify news and information, with 4 in 5 (80%) Filipinos agreeing with this statement. Yet, Figueroa said fact-checking alone cannot address the problem of misinformation as false news spreads faster and farther than the
truth.
The researcher also added that the overwhelming support for fact-checkers indicates demand for a media system they can trust rather than endorsement of fact-checking’s current state.
“Far less attention has been paid to what forms of fact-checking content actually work for the Filipino news consumer—one that accounts for their diverse media diets, trust orientations, and vernacular
content,” said Figueroa.
These findings are based on the insights from the March 2024 edition of the WR Numero
Philippine Public Opinion Monitor.
The March 2024 nationwide survey has a margin of error of ±2% at a 95% confidence level. At the subnational level, the margin of error is ±6% for the National Capital Region, ±5% for North and Central Luzon, ±5% for South Luzon, ±5% for the Visayas, and ±5% for Mindanao, all at the same 95% confidence level.
This analysis forms part of the WR Numero Public Opinion Letters’ latest report entitled “A New Information Order? The Changing Relationship of Filipinos with News Media,” written by Senior Research Associate Buboy Figueroa. Access the full article at https://tinyurl.com/InformationOrder.
