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HKFP
23-06-2025
- Business
- HKFP
HKFP's commitment to human-powered journalism
Hong Kong Free Press is committed to remaining a human-powered newsroom in the AI era. Whilst others in the local news sector are experimenting, readers can be assured that none of HKFP's content has been – or will be – AI generated. An AI tool cannot ask Hongkongers for reactions, pick up the phone, attend a court hearing or press event, or understand the nuances of a rapidly-changing city and press freedom landscape. Quality journalism needs boots on the ground. News stories written with generative AI have been proven to introduce undeclared errors or 'hallucinated' content, as well as produce biased, outdated or plagiarised content. Few AI tools include proper sourcing or attribution information, therefore HKFP does not, and will not, adopt generative AI for any news writing, news image generation or fact-checking. HKFP readers can always be assured that our output is the work of our dedicated journalists and freelancers. AI guidelines The 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report also revealed scepticism among audiences when it comes to the use of AI in newsrooms. Only 19 per cent of those surveyed in the US, and just 15 per cent of Europeans, were comfortable with AI taking the lead in news production, even if it had some human oversight. According to the report, respondents accepted that AI could make news cheaper to produce, and more timely, but a significant proportion believed AI would have a detrimental effect on transparency, accuracy and trustworthiness.
The Star
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Why Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation
MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): A study that found that Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation online has underlined the rise in distrust towards the country's leaders, amid intensifying rivalry between the Marcos and Duterte camps. The 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report released on June 17 found that Filipinos are more likely than people in other countries to blame politicians for the spread of false information online. According to the survey, 55 per cent of Filipino respondents identified politicians as major sources of disinformation, ahead of online influencers (48 per cent), activists (38 per cent), journalists (37 per cent), foreign governments (34 per cent), and others. This is higher than the global average, where respondents generally identified both politicians and influencers as the biggest culprits in spreading disinformation, at 47 per cent each. The Reuters report polled 97,055 people in 48 territories in total, including 2,014 Filipinos. The report noted that disinformation 'surged in the Philippines over the past year – fuelled by the widening political rift between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice-President Sara Duterte'. 'The fallout peaked with Duterte's impeachment in February, followed a month later by the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who faces charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his bloody war on drugs,' it said. Associate Professor Danilo Arao, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines, told The Straits Times that Filipinos may have grown weary of what he described as a 'sustained, organised' operation of disinformation networks, which often parrot statements made by Filipino politicians. He cited a probe by local newspaper The Philippine Star in March, which found that about 20 seemingly unconnected Facebook accounts had posted identical text framing former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest by the ICC as 'kidnapping'. These were similar to the statements made by Mr Duterte's children, several of whom hold elected posts in the Philippines. 'Of course, this went beyond the period of review of the Digital News Report, but these are continuing patterns of disinformation,' Prof Arao said. 'And when you have the government, especially certain government officials, spreading disinformation, then naturally, people will become disappointed.' The Reuters survey, conducted from mid-January to late February in 2025, coincided with the start of the campaign period for the May midterm elections in the Philippines. The percentage of Filipinos concerned about disinformation has gone up, the survey found, from 63 per cent in 2024 to 67 per cent in 2025. The use of artificial intelligence-generated content to spread disinformation is a particular cause for concern. On June 15, two Duterte allies – Senator Ronald dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the Vice-President's brother – both shared on social media a video showing supposed interviews with male students condemning the moves of Marcos-allied lawmakers to impeach Ms Duterte. But Mr dela Rosa later drew flak from social media users after fact-checkers from Philippine newsrooms such as Rappler and found evidence that the video he shared was a deepfake generated by AI. Defending himself, he said on June 16: 'I don't care if this post is AI-generated... because I am not after the messenger. I am after the message.' This is part of a worrying trend in the Philippines, where politicians may not understand the perils of sharing AI-generated content, said political scientist Jean Encinas-Franco from the University of the Philippines. 'My sense is that very few politicians really understand what AI is all about. It's a little bit worrisome that they're not very concerned about the impact of how AI is used,' she said. Also contributing to public anxiety over disinformation in the Philippines, noted Prof Arao and Dr Franco, are narratives backing Beijing's position in the maritime dispute over the South China Sea, where both the Philippines and China have competing claims. In recent months, Philippine defence officials have raised concerns over alleged Chinese malign influence operations, including disinformation campaigns and suspected espionage activities in the country. In April, Filipino Senator Francis Tolentino accused the Chinese Embassy in Manila of orchestrating a 'hidden and sinister' disinformation campaign to influence public opinion with pro-Beijing narratives, targeting not only the South China Sea dispute but also midterm election candidates critical of Beijing's claims. China has denied the allegations. 'We're dealing with sovereignty issues, and it's also very emotional because it's intricately linked with patriotism and sense of nationhood,' Dr Franco said. 'If you're a Filipino, and you see fake news articles that are pro-Beijing, you'll get mad about these things.' Prof Arao said some Filipino content creators known to support the Dutertes often echo pro-China views, a holdover from the time Mr Duterte made a pivot towards Beijing during his presidency from 2016 to 2022. Still, both analysts said domestic disinformation fuelled by local politicians and their supporters remains a bigger concern than foreign influence for now. Mr Marcos has called for vigilance against disinformation amid his heated political rivalry with the Dutertes. Yet, a 2022 study by researchers at the Philippine Media Monitoring Laboratory also found years-long disinformation attempts on social media to whitewash abuses during the nine brutal years of martial law under Mr Marcos' father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The same researchers said Mr Marcos himself benefited from these disinformation efforts when he ran successfully for president in 2022. Prof Arao and Dr Franco said Filipinos have to be more discerning of the information they consume on social media. They said newsrooms should continue fact-checking efforts. Prof Arao also suggested a revision of the school curriculum to integrate lessons on media literacy and fact-checking for students. 'We need critical thinking. We have to ensure that critical pedagogy will not be compromised and will not be discouraged in our educational system. That's how we fight disinformation,' he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Central banks in Asia are becoming wary of currency intervention
MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): A study that found that Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation online has underlined the rise in distrust towards the country's leaders, amid intensifying rivalry between the Marcos and Duterte camps. The 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report released on June 17 found that Filipinos are more likely than people in other countries to blame politicians for the spread of false information online. According to the survey, 55 per cent of Filipino respondents identified politicians as major sources of disinformation, ahead of online influencers (48 per cent), activists (38 per cent), journalists (37 per cent), foreign governments (34 per cent), and others. This is higher than the global average, where respondents generally identified both politicians and influencers as the biggest culprits in spreading disinformation, at 47 per cent each. The Reuters report polled 97,055 people in 48 territories in total, including 2,014 Filipinos. The report noted that disinformation 'surged in the Philippines over the past year – fuelled by the widening political rift between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice-President Sara Duterte'. 'The fallout peaked with Duterte's impeachment in February, followed a month later by the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who faces charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his bloody war on drugs,' it said. Associate Professor Danilo Arao, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines, told The Straits Times that Filipinos may have grown weary of what he described as a 'sustained, organised' operation of disinformation networks, which often parrot statements made by Filipino politicians. He cited a probe by local newspaper The Philippine Star in March, which found that about 20 seemingly unconnected Facebook accounts had posted identical text framing former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest by the ICC as 'kidnapping'. These were similar to the statements made by Mr Duterte's children, several of whom hold elected posts in the Philippines. 'Of course, this went beyond the period of review of the Digital News Report, but these are continuing patterns of disinformation,' Prof Arao said. 'And when you have the government, especially certain government officials, spreading disinformation, then naturally, people will become disappointed.' The Reuters survey, conducted from mid-January to late February in 2025, coincided with the start of the campaign period for the May midterm elections in the Philippines. The percentage of Filipinos concerned about disinformation has gone up, the survey found, from 63 per cent in 2024 to 67 per cent in 2025. The use of artificial intelligence-generated content to spread disinformation is a particular cause for concern. On June 15, two Duterte allies – Senator Ronald dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the Vice-President's brother – both shared on social media a video showing supposed interviews with male students condemning the moves of Marcos-allied lawmakers to impeach Ms Duterte. But Mr dela Rosa later drew flak from social media users after fact-checkers from Philippine newsrooms such as Rappler and found evidence that the video he shared was a deepfake generated by AI. Defending himself, he said on June 16: 'I don't care if this post is AI-generated... because I am not after the messenger. I am after the message.' This is part of a worrying trend in the Philippines, where politicians may not understand the perils of sharing AI-generated content, said political scientist Jean Encinas-Franco from the University of the Philippines. 'My sense is that very few politicians really understand what AI is all about. It's a little bit worrisome that they're not very concerned about the impact of how AI is used,' she said. Also contributing to public anxiety over disinformation in the Philippines, noted Prof Arao and Dr Franco, are narratives backing Beijing's position in the maritime dispute over the South China Sea, where both the Philippines and China have competing claims. In recent months, Philippine defence officials have raised concerns over alleged Chinese malign influence operations, including disinformation campaigns and suspected espionage activities in the country. In April, Filipino Senator Francis Tolentino accused the Chinese Embassy in Manila of orchestrating a 'hidden and sinister' disinformation campaign to influence public opinion with pro-Beijing narratives, targeting not only the South China Sea dispute but also midterm election candidates critical of Beijing's claims. China has denied the allegations. 'We're dealing with sovereignty issues, and it's also very emotional because it's intricately linked with patriotism and sense of nationhood,' Dr Franco said. 'If you're a Filipino, and you see fake news articles that are pro-Beijing, you'll get mad about these things.' Prof Arao said some Filipino content creators known to support the Dutertes often echo pro-China views, a holdover from the time Mr Duterte made a pivot towards Beijing during his presidency from 2016 to 2022. Still, both analysts said domestic disinformation fuelled by local politicians and their supporters remains a bigger concern than foreign influence for now. Mr Marcos has called for vigilance against disinformation amid his heated political rivalry with the Dutertes. Yet, a 2022 study by researchers at the Philippine Media Monitoring Laboratory also found years-long disinformation attempts on social media to whitewash abuses during the nine brutal years of martial law under Mr Marcos' father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The same researchers said Mr Marcos himself benefited from these disinformation efforts when he ran successfully for president in 2022. Prof Arao and Dr Franco said Filipinos have to be more discerning of the information they consume on social media. They said newsrooms should continue fact-checking efforts. Prof Arao also suggested a revision of the school curriculum to integrate lessons on media literacy and fact-checking for students. 'We need critical thinking. We have to ensure that critical pedagogy will not be compromised and will not be discouraged in our educational system. That's how we fight disinformation,' he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI chatbots and TikTok reshape how young people get their daily news
Artificial intelligence is changing the way people get their news, with more readers turning to chatbots like ChatGPT to stay up to date. At the same time, nearly half of young adults now rely on platforms such as TikTok as their main source of news. The findings come from the Reuters Institute's annual Digital News Report, released this week. The Oxford University-affiliated study surveyed nearly 97,000 people across 48 countries to track how global news habits are shifting. The study found that a notable number of people are using AI chatbots to read headlines and get news updates – a shift described by the institute's director Mitali Mukherjee as a 'new chapter' in the way audiences consume information. While only 7 percent overall say they use AI chatbots to find news, that number rises among younger audiences – 12 percent of under-35s and 15 percent of under-25s now rely on tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini or Meta's Llama for their news. 'Personalised, bite-sized and quick – that's how younger audiences want their news, and AI tools are stepping in to deliver exactly that,' Mukherjee noted. Beyond reading headlines, many readers are turning to AI for more complex tasks: 27 percent use it to summarise news articles, 24 percent for translations, and 21 percent for recommendations on what to read next. Nearly one in five have quizzed AI directly about current events. (with newswires) Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:AI steals spotlight from Nobel winners who highlight Its power and risksAI showcase pays off for France, but US tech scepticism endures'By humans, for humans': French dubbing industry speaks out against AI threat
Straits Times
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Filipinos see politicians as top source of disinformation, says Reuters study
Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa (front) drew flak from social media users after fact-checkers found evidence that a video he shared was a deepfake. PHOTO: REUTERS Why Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation – A study that found Filipinos see politicians as the top source of disinformation online has underlined the rise in distrust towards the country's leaders, amid intensifying rivalry between the Marcos and Duterte camps. A 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report released on June 17 found that Filipinos are more likely than people in other countries to blame politicians for the spread of false information online According to the survey, 55 per cent of Filipino respondents identified politicians as major sources of disinformation, ahead of online influencers (48 per cent), activists (38 per cent), journalists (37 per cent), foreign governments (34 per cent), and others. This is higher than the global average, where respondents generally identified both politicians and influencers as the biggest culprits in spreading disinformation, at 47 per cent each. The Reuters report polled 97,055 people in 48 territories in total, including 2,014 Filipinos. The report noted that disinformation 'surged in the Philippines over the past year – fuelled by the widening political rift between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice-President Sara Duterte'. 'The fallout peaked with Duterte's impeachment in February, followed a month later by the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who faces charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his bloody war on drugs,' it said. Associate Professor Danilo Arao, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines, told The Straits Times that Filipinos may have grown weary of what he described as a 'sustained, organised' operation of disinformation networks, which often parrot statements made by Filipino politicians. He cited a probe by local newspaper Philippine Star in March, which found that about 20 seemingly unconnected Facebook accounts had posted identical texts framing former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest by the ICC as 'kidnapping'. These were similar to the statements made by Mr Duterte's children, several of whom hold elected posts in the Philippines, including the Vice-President. 'Of course this went beyond the period of review of the Digital News Report, but these are continuing patterns of disinformation,' Dr Arao said. 'And when you have the government, especially certain government officials, spreading disinformation, then naturally, people will become disappointed.' The Reuters survey, conducted from mid-January to late February in 2025, coincided with the start of the campaign period for the May midterm election in the Philippines. The percentage of Filipinos concerned about disinformation has gone up, the survey found, from 63 per cent in 2024 to 67 per cent in 2025. The use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content to spread disinformation is a particular cause for concern. On June 15, two Duterte allies – Senator Ronald dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, the Vice-President's brother – both shared on social media a video showing supposed interviews with male students condemning the moves of Marcos-allied lawmakers to impeach Ms Duterte. But Mr Dela Rosa later drew flak from social media users after fact-checkers from Philippine newsrooms such as Rappler and found evidence that the video he shared was a deepfake generated by AI. Defending himself, he said on June 16: 'I don't care if this post is AI-generated... because I am not after the messenger. I am after the message.' This is part of a worrying trend in the Philippines, where politicians may not understand the perils of sharing AI-generated content, said political scientist Jean Encinas-Franco from University of the Philippines. 'My sense is that very few politicians really understand what AI is all about. It's a little bit worrisome that they're not very concerned about the impact of how AI is used,' she said. Also contributing to public anxiety over disinformation in the Philippines, noted Dr Arao and Dr Franco, are narratives backing Beijing's position in the maritime dispute over the South China Sea, where both the Philippines and China have competing claims. In recent months, Philippine defence officials have raised concerns over alleged Chinese malign influence operations, including disinformation campaigns and suspected espionage activities in the country. In April, Filipino Senator Francis Tolentino accused the Chinese Embassy in Manila of orchestrating a 'hidden and sinister' disinformation campaign to influence public opinion with pro-Beijing narratives, targeting not only the South China Sea dispute but also midterm election candidates critical of Beijing's claims. China has denied the allegations. 'We're dealing with sovereignty issues, and it's also very emotional because it's intricately linked with patriotism and sense of nationhood,' Dr Franco said. 'If you're a Filipino, and you see fake news articles that are pro-Beijing, you'll get mad about these things'. Dr Arao said some Filipino content creators known to support the Dutertes often echo pro-China views, a holdover from the time Mr Duterte made a pivot towards Beijing during his presidency from 2016 to 2022. Still, both analysts said domestic disinformation fuelled by local politicians and their supporters remains a bigger concern than foreign influence for now. Mr Marcos has called for vigilance against disinformation amid his heated political rivalry with the Dutertes. Yet a 2022 study by researchers at the Philippine Media Monitoring Laboratory also found years-long disinformation attempts on social media to whitewash abuses during the nine brutal years of martial law under Mr Marcos' father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Senior. The same researchers said Mr Marcos himself benefitted from these disinformation efforts when he ran successfully for president in 2022. Dr Arao and Dr Franco said Filipinos have to be more discerning of the information they consume on social media. They said newsrooms should continue fact-checking efforts. Dr Arao also suggested a revision of the school curriculum to integrate lessons on media literacy and fact-checking for students. 'We need critical thinking. We have to ensure that critical pedagogy will not be compromised and will not be discouraged in our educational system. That's how we fight disinformation,' he said. Mara Cepeda is Philippines correspondent for The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
