The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Office of Public Affairs (OPA), in partnership with ABS-CBN, hosted a fact-checking lecture-workshop titled, “I-Tsek ang Boto,” on April 10, 2025 at the George SK Ty Function Hall of the Bl. Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P., building. The workshop addressed information disorder, especially during the campaign season.
The workshop, shortly transpiring after the 7th installment of the Media Leadership Lecture Series, delved into the same societal concern, this time with students practicing fact-checking and learning how to identify and address misinformation on social media and other platforms.
The workshop began with an interactive discussion by Ms. Dabet Panelo on the history of Philippine elections. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions and share their insights during the discussion, providing a space where they could learn more about how the elections developed in the Philippines as well as the technology which evolved alongside it. Topics on election laws and regulations were also discussed with the Legal Network for Truthful Elections’ (LENTE) Junior Program Officer for Election Reforms Ms. Alexa Yadao as speaker. During her session, Yadao led participants in a discussion about various issues they may have encountered in their own localities in relation to violations of the regulations for elections.
After the interactive discussion, the students then engaged in workshops where they shared their local experiences related to the campaign period, checked and utilized websites such as TinEye and WeVerify to conduct their fact-checking activities. These tools are readily accessible to anyone with an internet connection, which allows a wide range of individuals to fact-check on their own without further assistance.
In the continuously growing online landscape, people must be well-equipped with the proper tools to decipher information that seek to misinform the masses — “I-Tsek ang Boto” has provided Thomasians with the knowledge and skill to combat the ongoing crisis of misinformation with the help of ABS-CBN’s school-based fact-checking campaigns, particularly before the Midterm National and Local Elections set on May 2025.