A Test of Critical Thinking

An election season in UP Diliman is not complete without the incessant room-to-room campaigns, speeches full of big promises, flyers posted on every corner, and forums to test the candidates’ wit and true capabilities. It’s no surprise that the aspirants have taken advantage of the ease of social media and eagerly took campaigning beyond campus grounds and into cyber space. In response, Facebook pages like Factcheck Diliman, The Diliman Heckler, and just recently, Tanungan sa Diliman, have been created to accompany the many promotional posters spreading on the internet.

Each of these Facebook pages serves a different purpose. Factcheck Diliman is the arm that aims to check the credibility of any information disseminated by the parties and expose anomalies that may arise with regard to the elections. Tanungan sa Diliman is more specialized, and serves as an avenue for voters to ask questions to any candidate and have the answers be revealed for everyone to see and scrutinize. Last but not the least is The Diliman Heckler. As its name entails, the Heckler serves as a comic relief amidst all the tension brought about by the election season.

Although the creators of these mediums may have had only noble intentions during the period of their conception, the users have to ask themselves if their functions still stand as something positive, or whether or not they have brought about more harm than good.

Factcheck Diliman, for one, has been the go-to site for relevant information- so much so that some people have proclaimed a post from Factcheck as immediate truth. This precisely goes against the level of critical thinking that the page sought to uphold. While this is not true for other people, Factcheck sometimes propagates internet disputes among students with opposing views. It is perfectly fine when these are approached with respect and proper reasoning, but some of the comment wars on the Facebook page do not always remain healthy. And when Factcheck releases its information, one can’t help but wonder what its source is, and whether or not it is as credible as it claims to be.

Tanungan sa Diliman poses a different problem entirely. Hiding under the veil of anonymity, anyone is able to ask any question to any candidate. The page updated its status, saying, “We just want to clear that we post the questions that are directed and for the candidates, regardless of its background, connotations, denotations, and implications.” This may be a good thing in the name of transparency, but any incriminating question posted on behalf of accountability is a poor excuse for attacking a candidate. Besides, judging from the influx of posts, most of the questions are left unanswered and are just bombarded with "likes" from the students who are itching to get any form of response.

Contrasting the seriousness of the first two mediums, The Diliman Heckler gets on the funnier side of things. Admittedly, many of the Heckler’s posts do merit a chuckle or two. But things turn sour when the page makes skin color and religion the basis of its humor. More than once it has posted offensive remarks involving various candidates. Others may argue that it is all just clean fun, but when the Heckler trudges on the candidates and stoops so low just to get a laugh from the readers, it stops becoming a laughing matter.

Common to the three sites is the question of who really run them. There can never be an absence of biases, or complete impartiality with regard to the elections or any of the three opposing parties. And certainly, these personal notions are reflected in each post, like, and comment of these Facebook stars.

These sites are not, in essence, a bad addition to the UP politics. It is just their usage that sometimes leads them to be seen in a negative light.

In a few days’ time, election season 2014 will be finally over and these Facebook pages can go to rest along with the other candidates. But when the time comes for all of it to begin once again, each person should be more conscious of his actions and be conscientious of everything he writes and reads. After all, the power of social media is no longer a new marvel to this generation. All it takes is a little responsibility and caution. In this way, the minds of the UP students can continue to grow in positive critical thinking.

*the pictures above are taken from the respective Facebook pages of Factcheck Diliman, Tanungan sa Diliman, and The Diliman Heckler