MANILA, PHILIPPINES — DDB MNL partnered with PressOne.PH, an independent news organization, to launch “Truth Hour” to stress the importance of fighting disinformation online.
Likening disinformation to living in the dark, PressOne.PH launched the initiative to cast a light on the dangers of spreading false information online. The launch coincided with the global observance of Earth Hour last March 26, Saturday.
While the Earth Hour celebration calls for the turning off of artificial light for one hour (from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.) as an expression of support for nature and our planet, PressOne’s “Truth Hour” used that dark hour to illustrate that those who consume and share information from untrustworthy sources are living in the dark. Only through the truth and facts can we dispel the darkness of disinformation.
Through its social media accounts, PressOne released a series of quote cards about the parallelism of darkness and disinformation, light and facts. The cards each featured a fact-check story and the rating from PressOne’s fact-checkers. The link to the fact-check story was posted in the comments section for everyone to read.
“By playing with the analogy of darkness and disinformation, we promoted the importance of debunking disinformation in a more creative and engaging way. It’s not our usual straightforward fact-checked posts. We want something more creative and interesting to raise the public’s awareness on the importance of living under the light of truth,” said PressOne.PH Associate Editor Rommel Lopez.
“With all the information presented to us every day, across so many different social media platforms, it can be difficult to discern between what’s fact and fiction. Being in the business of communication, it’s important that we play our part in promoting and pushing for the truth. Partnering with PressOne.PH is a step towards empowering truth-tellers in this day and age,” explained DDB MNL Executive Creative Director Maan Agsalud.
The Truth Hour campaign will continue even after the Earth Hour. PressOne.PH will continue to light up the world with facts to dispel the darkness of disinformation one fact-check story at a time.
PressOne.PH is a member of fact-checking coalitions Tsek.ph and #FactsFirstPH. The news team has produced several fact-check articles that debunked erroneous claims made online.
However, the independent news organization was recently the subject of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack that flooded its website with millions of online traffic to shut down the site.
CREDITS:
Agency: DDB MNL
Executive Creative Director: Maan Agsalud
Deputy Executive Creative Director: Ryder Aquino
Creative Director: Adi Yapyuco
Senior Copywriter: RJ Espartinez
Senior Art Director: Lara Espineda
Managing Director: Vina Henson
Client: PressOne.PH
Editor: Felipe F. Salvosa II
Associate Editor: Rommel F. Lopez
