The Lighthouse Diary Entry 10: Fake News and Historical Revisionism

Because it is Filipino Week in school, the community had the rare privilege of listening to Dr. Maria Serena Diokno and Ms. Jover Laurio of Pinoy Ako Blog. They came to speak about historical revisionism and fake news, two issues that lend relevance to every Filipinos today.

Dr. Maris Diokno’s presentation on historical revisionism was well structured and very impressive in it’s coverage of content and context. First, she laid down the basic principles and purpose of revisionism, the good and the bad, the negative and the positive. When is revisionism called for and when is it uncalled for. She then showed samples from authentic materials that were all well referenced. After this, she demonstrated methods of analysing historical texts and documents. 

Ms. Jover Laurio on the one hand presented ways to spot fake news and techniques to deal with trolls. While they can be viscous and cruel, she takes the high ground when dealing with them. She emphasised the importance of educating not only one’s self but also the uninformed in decent and kinder ways.

As a librarian I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture by our invited speakers, specifically Dr. Diokno’s. The archived documents she presented helped understand and uncover lies and deceit made by evil men. I am proud that I belong to an institution that preserves humanity’s capacity to remember. To know the truth and to seek it, we need competence, skills and character. Both women rallied the relevance of research in historical texts or digital content. Research is no longer strictly an academic work. 

Research is a life skill!