THE IMPROVEMENT and creation of public city libraries, including the continuous development or upgrading of school libraries not only in Quezon City but all over the country is a must to fight disinformation and fake news coming from social media.
Speaking at the launching of the new state-of-the-art library at the Bagong Pag Asa Elementary School on Thursday, QC First District Rep. Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde believes that libraries would play a major role in a student’s academic success.
“In the age of social media and internet, we are now dealing with different information which are very useful, but some of them are totally disinformation and fake news that we need to fight,” the 32-year-old freshman lawmaker who is a current young actor.
“With libraries being improved or being built in various places or in public schools, our students can definitely learn and develop their skills to achieve their dreams,” Atayde added. “This massive effort should be encouraged as every library we put up would benefit all students.”
He also said he is looking at helping to provide more books and computers for the libraries, and even push for the digitization of resources to make them easier to access.
For Atayde, schools and establishments of libraries will always be the best avenue to fight or counter the proliferation of fake news and disinformation from the internet.
Atayde along with QC Mayor Joy Belmonte (represented by vice mayor Gian Sotto in the event) and Bagong Pag Asa Barangay Captain Rodolfo Palma, among other public officials, praised Interior Design students from the SoFA Design Institute for collaborating to build the library inspired by the story and activity book entitled “Ignited Souls.”
“Libraries are beneficial to help students develop skills such as critical thinking and media literacy,” he said. “It’s the tools our children need in a world where fake news and disinformation are becoming increasingly common, and threaten to undo the lessons taught in the four walls of the classroom.”
In the face of reality, the legislator said there have been proposals to tighten the regulations for social media and online platforms.
But Atayde believes that “libraries are powerful and effective tools against fake news.”
In addition to helping combat falsehoods online, the education advocate said that libraries are vital as studies have shown that access to libraries can have a great significant impact on a child’s academic success.”
“Students who have access to libraries perform better in school, have higher reading scores, and are more likely to go on to higher education,” he added.