Whistleblower Ronie Orillosa chided social media as a purveyor of fake news, which has become a contemporary social scourge.

Orillosa aired his sentiments during his interview with Ardy Araneta-Batoy on Nov. 19, 2024 where he clearly laid out his position on fake news.

He said fake news has become prevalent and has affected social opinion on some matters including politics among others.

He said fake news has flooded social media where a lot of information are spreading like wildfire.

There has been an effort to twist the truth and to make  lies appear to be the gospel truth, he said.

Sadly, he said, most of the truth in social media have been showed to the backburner and the lies gain prominence in order to fit the narrative of a few persons.

“Ang fake news dili na nato malikayan, masugatan nato na kanunay, pero angay gud ta nga magbinantayon,” he said in the vernacular language of Binisaya.

(Fake news is something we cannot avoid, and we will be seeing it often. We need to be vigilant.)

He suggested that people should always treat what they read on social media with a grain of salt and be mindful that they may be reading something that is fake

He defended the Bohol Tribune of scattering fake news by some sectors who may find the newspaper’s contents to be inimical to their interests.

The newspaper, he said, was being accused of fake news by someone with dubious credibility.

He defended the paper by saying the institution remain steadfast as people in high places should not be onion skimmed. He even gave an analogy that a knife may only cause injury only if one gets hit when the object is thrown at a person. The knife represents the reality where the subject wants to alter because it disrupts his preferred narrative.

“Bisag unsa  ka hait ang kutsilyo, ug dili ta maigo, ug dili ta masamad, dili ta masakitan,” he said.

(It does not matter how sharp the knife is, as long as one does not get get hit and wounded. He won’t cry foul.)

He said if the newspaper does not print real news, then no one should cry wolf because it is fake in the first place and one is confident enough such fake news will not cause injury to a genuine narrative.

He challenged those who accused the newspaper of being a purveyor of fake news that the paper will prove the charges otherwise.

Orillosa has been tapped as a columnist of the said newspaper.

Araneta-Batoy lamented that there are times the bashing would result in personal attacks, owing to the fact that the paper has become the lone source of an alternative narrative in Bohol.

Orillosa said his column serves as a vehicle for him to express his opinion on key social issues affecting the country.

Orillosa is also a mainstay of Open Forum program every Monday where he interacts with the program’s hosts.

PASSION

It was revealed that Orillosa wanted initially to carve a career in media. He wanted to be part of the industry but fate had other plans and brought him to become a seafarer.

Now that he has become a seafarer, he longs still to gain a foothold in media and thus he has gained an opportunity to really express himself and make a difference as a media personality.

It was learned in his younger years, the call to be a media practitioner was loud but a deform happened, and now he is course correcting and his involvement with the radio program and  the newspaper.

He even thought to become a lawyer but fate had other plans.

He felt God gave him an opportunity to bring him towards the media, which is in first love.

He said that he does not regret being in media and revel in the fact that he is able to do what his heart desires and more.

He is focused on championing the interest of the majority and not for his own.

ADVANTAGES

He said social media has its advantages but it has been abused and misused.

Social media has plenty of negative impact especially to the youth among which is the spread of fake news, identity theft, hacking, and scams among others.

He advised people to not spread sensitive information on social media as it might cause injury and lead to identity theft.

ADVOCACY

He has been espousing his advocacy for good governance and thus  become a target of those who are not aligned with his advocacy as some interested or agenda are not aligned with his thrust for good governance.

He said it is  inevitable that others’ interests will be affected as he continue to push for good governance

Despite of threats he remain faithful to his cause and will continue with his advocacy even if he is under threat of those who are in power.

TROLLS

Trolls make social media more dangerous and Orillosa said that people should be cautious of trolls that may spread fake news especially on social media.

Trolls may be used to twist realty and spread lies.

SCAMMER

Orillosa lamented accusations hurled at him for allegedly being a scammer. He was accused of being a scammer no less by the Bohol governor, ne said.

He had challenged the governor to substantiate his accusations against him as an alleged scammer and he will prove that the governor is a liar.

He said the governor lacks credibility but Orillosa maintains respect to the governor despite their skirmishes.

He said the governor should not act in a knee jerk fashion driven by emotions.

He told the governor that he should have a sharp mind when making moves. It is hard, he said, if a person has low EQ, as he said it is important to be emotionally stable when one seeks to be a leader.

He is also open to any form of debate and he is not going to back down when he gets challenged.