Rappler to Hold Iloilo Forum on AI, Disinformation in Elections

As Filipinos prepare for the 2025 elections, Rappler’s MovePH is launching its “#AmbagNatin: Championing facts for an informed choice” roadshow, aimed at fostering voter empowerment and combating AI-fueled disinformation.

The first stop of this civic engagement series will be held in Iloilo City on November 19-20, featuring discussions, hands-on workshops, and a public forum.

The two-day event in Iloilo will focus on the role of verified information and the risks posed by generative AI in spreading election-related misinformation.

The event is in partnership with anti-disinformation coalition #FactsFirstPH, University of the Philippines Visayas, Daily Guardian, iWrite, and Vital Signs.

“With the rapid spread of disinformation and misuse of generative AI, easy access to facts is needed more than ever,” MovePH said in a press release.

“This requires everyone’s participation in order to ensure that facts will thrive in the upcoming elections.”

Held at the University of the Philippines Visayas Little Theater, the forum will feature Rappler journalists and local media experts in a discussion on information integrity.

The event will also showcase Rappler’s chatbot Rai, which uses AI to deliver journalist-verified information interactively.

Panelists will discuss strategies to protect voters from AI-driven falsehoods that could impact election outcomes.

The forum is open to the public and serves as a platform for attendees to engage directly with journalists and community leaders on how they can contribute to factual, community-focused stories.

The roadshow will continue to Batangas City and Iligan City, where Rappler will expand its effort to cultivate informed voters and train future Movers, Rappler’s civic volunteers who will help produce election-centered, community-driven news.

As disinformation continues to evolve, especially with the capabilities of generative AI, initiatives like the #AmbagNatin roadshow highlight the critical need for voter education and active civic engagement in safeguarding Philippine democracy.

Slots to the public forum are free, but seats are limited. All attendees will also be asked to download the Rappler Communities app, a news and community-building app that uses generative AI for journalism and civic engagement.

Register here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdgMHWNw3sJm1PYBDW_Wt_8SdG9m5j251Xe6m5LaXAzuQgIg/viewform) to join the public forum.

Deadline for registration is on November 17, 2024.

Be a Mover and join our workshops on civic engagement

Aside from the public forum, the #AmbagNatin roadshow will offer exclusive training on journalism for community-building through a series of hands-on, interactive workshops for interested Movers or volunteers for Rappler.

These workshops will engage 20 local community leaders, journalists, and youth in a community dialogue on local issues, and interactive learning sessions and activities to be held from November 19 to 20. Specifically, these will run from November 19, 1 to 5 pm; and November 20, 9 am to 5 pm. During these sessions, participants will learn more about fact-checking, reporting on local issues, creating effective multimedia content, and utilizing social media for civic engagement.

As part of the selection process for these workshops, interested participants must pitch an election-related story from their locality and be committed to cover community issues during election season for Rappler. Following the training, participants are expected to pursue stories based on their pitches, with support from Rappler.

The criteria for selecting the 20 local community leaders, journalists, and youth in Iloilo are as follows:

• At least 18 years old and based in Iloilo province
• Good writing and communication skills
• Basic knowledge of short video production preferred
• Journalism or video production experience a plus
• Interested in doing community-driven journalism
• Must have a solid pitch of an election-related story from their locality (can be text story or multimedia execution). The story pitches can cover any of these: profiles of local candidates running in their city/province, stories about community issues that local candidates must address in their platforms, comparisons of platforms of key candidates in their area, among others.
• Must be willing to help Rappler cover community stories during election season. These community stories can be similar to the ones indicated above.
• Must also attend the public forum conducted during the morning session on November 19, 2024
• Food and snacks will be provided to those selected for the workshop.

If you’re interested in joining these workshops and becoming a Mover, please submit an application here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXdUUFcKzrE1m_PNGmXHRD3hbdu1A2ALP60-yacA0iyMGEmQ/viewform).

Deadline for application is on November 14, 11:59 pm. Those applying for the workshop should also answer the form for the public forum.

Applicants will be screened by Rappler. All will be notified about the status of their applications by November 18.

For any questions or concerns, email move.ph@rappler.com.

For media inquiries, please contact Samantha Bagayas, Rappler’s head of civic engagement, at samantha.bagayas@rappler.com.