ESPRESSO MORNINGS

By Joe Zaldarriaga

Mr. Joe Zaldarriaga, fondly called “Manong Joe”, is a distinguished figure in the country’s corporate communications landscape. Holding the position of Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications at Manila Electric Company (Meralco), he has orchestrated unparalleled success for the utility company, winning accolades for their brand of service communications.
He was the architect behind Meralco’s most celebrated milestones in the field of communications— steering the company to five-time Company of the Year honors at the Philippine Quill Awards and leading the only PR team ever named Team of the Year in the history of the Anvil Awards.
Manong Joe’s leadership also extends as a respected member of the Board of Trustees for the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), concurrent with his role as Chairman of the International Association of Business Communicators Philippines (IABC Philippines) where he also served as its President.
Manong Joe is a distinguished awardee of the medallion of honor and scroll of commendation from the University of Manila, owing to his years in public service as a communications professional. He shares his insights through columns in renowned publications, including The Philippine Star’s The Z Factor, and Philippine News Agency’s ESPRESSO MORNINGS.

In my last column, I talked about how a well-meaning public safety advocacy regarding solar panels got completely twisted on social media.

Within a week, it was turned into a narrative of lies and misinformation used as pure “rage bait.” It was a classic, frustrating example of how social media is weaponized to warp facts, spark unnecessary anger and mislead audiences.

Pages and accounts of unknown origins suddenly sprung out of nowhere bashing Meralco including myself, saying we are enemies of the sun and we are against solar. Preposterous and ridiculous but many believed.

This isn’t the first and most glaring example of rage bait content. In fact, this is just a symptom of a bigger problem. Disinformation is now an organized, highly profitable industry.

A 2025 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found that 59 percent of Filipinos believe the spread of fake news on the internet and social media is a serious problem. The survey also revealed that 65 percent of respondents find it difficult to determine whether information they watch, hear, or read on television, radio or social media is fake, highlighting the increasing challenge of navigating today’s information landscape.

If we actually want to cut through the noise, we have to look past individual fake news posts and look at the social media algorithm. After all, social media is a business designed to keep your eyes glued to the screen. And nothing keeps people scrolling quite like anger.

When an algorithm spots a post that makes people furious or scared, it instantly pushes that post to thousands of other feeds. The system doesn’t care if the story is true, fair, or completely fabricated. It just cares that you click, leave an angry comment, share it, and stay on the app a little longer. In an environment like that, a nuanced explanation about grid safety or public policy doesn’t stand a chance. It’s just too boring for the algorithm. Meanwhile, a sensationalized rumor designed to make your blood boil gets the spotlight — even if it lacks context or worse, is an absolute lie.

When fake news is weaponized this way, the damage is not about a simple misunderstanding. It hurts ability to trust anything. It makes us cynical about experts, skeptical of legitimate safety warnings, and deeply divided. When every single issue gets flattened into an “us versus them” shouting match, nothing actually gets fixed.

So, how do we distinguish facts from lies? How do we get the full picture in an age of rage bait content?

Logging off completely isn’t really an option anymore with social media deeply embedded in our careers and daily lives. The real defense has to come from us, and it starts with what educators call media literacy. In today’s highly digital world, media literacy has become a basic survival skill — the ability to be more critical of the information we receive instead of being passive receivers.

Media literacy is essential to help the public learn how to spot fake news including deepfakes, how to check and verify sources, and how to understand context.

We have to start teaching media literacy in schools, professional spaces and corporate organizations to empower individuals to make properly informed decisions.

I personally am an active advocate of media literacy through THINKaMuna Pilipinas — the media and information literacy advocacy of Manuel V. Pangilinan-led MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. that empowers Filipinos to critically evaluate information, identify credible sources, and engage responsibly in the digital space. Simply put, THINKaMuna calls on all of us to think first before believing information peddled online.

Everyone needs to know how to spot a deepfake, how algorithms manipulate what they see, and how to tell the difference between a random opinion, a paid ad and an actual piece of journalism.

At the end of the day, cutting through the noise is something we all have to do together. It is a choice we need to make for us and the future generations.