- Communications Assistant Secreatary Margaux Mocha Uson welcomes the bill penalizing fake news
- Known blogger Mocha Uson believes it’s about time peddlers of fake news to be punished.
Malacañang Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson is very open to the idea of penalizing fake news peddlers.
In a report by GMA Network’s 24 Oras, Uson said she believed it is high time for fake news perpetrators to be liable under the law.
In a statment Uson said “Maganda po yan nang magkaalaman kung sino talaga nagpapakalat ng fake news. Lalo na ngayon madami ang nagpapakalat ng walang basehan, bilang halimbawa na diyan ang isang online sorority blog,” Uson”.
She added, “Tulad ng maling numero ng napapatay sa droga at maling balita sa namtay sa evacuation center ng Marawi na sabila 59 daw pero ang totoo 19 lang. Sana mapatupad na yan nang makulong na ang dapat makulong,”
After her appointment as Assistant Sec. of Malacanang’s PCOO Mocha also vowed to stop the spread of fake news and said she will do her best to bridge the gap between the government and the people through social media.
On Thursday, June 22, 2017, Senator Joel Villanueva formally file Senate Bill 1492 or the Anti-Fake News Bill that seeks to penalize any person or entity who maliciously offer, publish, distribute, circulate, and spread false news or information in print, broadcast or online media.
In a statement, Sen. Villanueva said “The effect of fake news should not be taken lightly. Fake news creates impression and beliefs based on false premises leading to division, misunderstanding and further exacerbating otherwise strenuous relations”.
Once the bill has been enacted into a law, any person who will be caught and proven guilty of malicious creation and distribution of false news will have to pay a fine ranging from P100,000 to P5,000,000 and imprisonment of 1 to 5 years.
And if the offender is a public official, that person should pay twice of the amount of fine, and twice the period of imprisonment; and absolute disqualification from holding any public office.
But while Mocha vowed to stop the proliferation of fake news, she herself was hardly criticized by netizens for spreading fake news online.
Just last May 30, 2017, Mocha was chastised for posting a photo of Honduran soldiers praying with a caption “Let’s pray for our army”.
She was also criticized for sharing Peter Lavina’s photo of a Brazilian girl which they claim was a victim of rape here in the Philippines.
