Latest news with #Rappler
DW
27-06-2025
- Business
- DW
Advancing dialogue with the help of AI
AI can be used to create safe spaces for audiences as well as new revenue streams for digital newsrooms, argues Rappler's Don Kevin Hapal. DW Freedom: Don Kevin Hapal, you are Head of Data and Innovation at Philippine digital news outlet Rappler , and currently developing new digital exchange spaces for your audiences. Why don't you just use what big social media platforms have to offer? Don Kevin Hapal: We are often overly dependent on big platforms like Facebook. Our Facebook traffic has dropped significantly over the past year. Generally speaking, these platforms have given up on working with newsrooms. So this is not a question of if we can be independent — we must. We must get our communities to go onto our own platforms directly. And, at the same time, we wanted to build a space where people could not only access information from our newsroom but also have a conversation without all the toxicity, harassment and fear. A safe conversation which is moderated and managed by journalists. But this then will be a rather small public sphere — is it limited to Rappler's community only? We are hoping to bring other newsrooms into this and use the same technology as well — so that in the end different communities can be in exchange. We use a decentralized platform technology for this, which is called "matrix". The idea behind this is that we want to see people having control over their own communication. So you offer users of the Rappler app the opportunity to take part in different exchanges. Yes, and we have plugged a lot of AI features into this app, to help keep the conversation clean. The AI checks for violations of community guidelines, but we also have a layer of human moderation to make sure it covers the spaces that should be covered by humans. The AI checks 24/7 and flags problems — and the human moderator then takes a look and decides on actions. And then we use a chatbot that we call Rai. What is special about this chatbot? Rai is largely using latest information from the Rappler website. It is built on a large language model (LLM). But we are limiting the data it uses to avoid hallucinations based on a technique called GraphRAG, a method for enhancing accuracy. It is still early stages. We started building this in 2023. The acceptance seems to be OK. Rai provides the users with a unique Filipino and Asian perspective when it comes to world events. And this project shows that we can integrate AI responsibly to support journalistic rigor in the face of disinformation. You also run something called "AI dialogue"? One of our general ambitions is to develop new deliberative technologies and work through surveys with our audience. For this we are experimenting with an online AI moderated focus group discussion tool called AI dialogue. A bot hosts online discussion groups that can talk about specific topics. The AI then asks people a lot of questions and creates ideas for policy recommendations that come from these discussions. Overall we introduce a three step process: We synthesize information, the bot then asks follow-up questions and then it creates a quick summary of what has been said. Can you give an example? One example is a creative process we started for collecting democratic input on how AI could be governed. We ran this as a project in cooperation with Open AI. We built a scalable conversation where many people gave their input. For other topics we have been working with local governments. Because we can offer AI powered public consultations. They used the tool to consult with their constituency and then came up with local policies. This line of work has turned out to be profitable for us, too: We have been able to monetize AI-powered market research. But don't traditional representative audience surveys deliver more reliable insights? The traditional surveys have their limitations, too. What we offer is that we can complement this with qualitative information. In your experience, what is the most important thing to consider when governing AI? We at Rappler were the first to publish an AI guideline . What is important for me is that whatever we build we ensure transparency. We must be open about what data is used and what for. Rappler is a digital company. Has your innovative power made you an interesting partner for Big Tech? We must see that most of Big Tech's business is with other sectors. I know that in the US some news organizations were able to agree on deals with them. But I think we cannot do that here, in the Philippines. They are not interested. When we did the project with Open AI, we had a lot of conversations with them. But in the end nothing concrete has come out. Don Kevin Hapal was introduced to data journalism while writing and researching about social media, disinformation, and propaganda. One of his investigative pieces led to one of the biggest network takedowns by Facebook, covering 220 pages, 73 accounts, and 29 instagram accounts, with a combined following of 43 million users. Interview: Jan Lublinski
GMA Network
19-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Pasig RTC junks Anti-Dummy Law case vs. Maria Ressa, other Rappler execs
"In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. The Pasig Regional Trial Court has dismissed the violation of the Anti-Dummy Law charges against Nobel Peace laureate Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa and five other officers of the news website. In an 11-page order, Pasig City Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong granted the demurrers to evidence Ressa and the other executives –Nico Jose Nolledo, Glenda M. Gloria, Manuel I. Ayala, Felicia Atienza, and James Velasquez. "In this case, this Court finds that the prosecution's evidence is grossly insufficient to establish the criminal liability of al of the accused by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the court said. In the information filed before the Pasig RTC, the prosecution accused Ressa and the others of allowing Omidyar Network Fund, a foreign corporation, to intervene in Rappler operations by issuing Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDR) to the investment firm in 2015. The anti-dummy case is related to a Securities and Exchange Commission order revoking Rappler's incorporation papers on allegations it violated a constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mass media by issuing PDRs to Omidyar. The court said that the 2018 SEC decision itself did not establish the individual roles of each of the accused in the transfer of PDRs to Omidyar. "From the foregoing, it is apparent that the SEC assumed that each of the accused had a role ni the supposed illegal scheme based on their corporate positions ni Rappler and RHCI. It found such fact sufficient for the imposition of administrative sanctions on the corporations involved," the court said. "Nonetheless, ni the instant criminal case against each of the accused, the prosecution simply adopted the SEC findings in the administrative case and failed ot provide evidentiary support ot the supposed specific acts of each of the accused that led to the issuance of the PDRs to Omidyar," it added. The court said there was no proof of the alleged negotiations between Ressa, as representative of Rappler and RHCI, and Omidyar. It added that the 2018 SEC decision itself showed that not all the accused are directors of RHCI. Atienza and Velasquez, for example, were shown to be directors of Rappler only. "Likewise, the prosecution failed to submit any board resolution, corporate record or any other piece of evidence clearly establishing the involvement of each of the accused in the issuance of PDRs to Omidyar," the court said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baseless 'impeachment vote' claims target Philippine Senate hopeful
"When I win, I will vote to impeach Sara Duterte," reads a graphic shared May 6 on Facebook which suggests Pangilinan made the remarks one day prior. The image includes social media handles for iMPACT Leadership, a youth-focused organisation in the Philippines (archived link). The image also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook as the Philippines headed to vote in a mid-term election largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). The 12 senators chosen will form half the jury in Duterte's trial -- tentatively set for July -- that could see her permanently barred from public office. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Pangilinan appeared poised to make a comeback ranked fifth, an initial tally from the poll body Comelec released by local media showed as of May 13 (archived link). But there have been no official reports of him announcing he would support Duterte's conviction and a representative for Pangilinan's camp told AFP on May 8 he "made no such remark". In an earlier press conference in March, he was asked about the case and responded: "We will just have to look at the evidence. I'm a lawyer. We will have to look at whether or not there is a case. And then we will decide impartially" (archived link). A reverse image search on Google found Pangilinan's picture in an article from online media outlet Rappler that stated it was captured during a campaign rally on February 11 (archived link). A review of his full speech found he made no such remarks as the false posts alleged although he briefly alluded to Marcos and Duterte's dispute (archived link). "While all of this is happening, our countrymen are complaining about low wages, inflation and unaffordable costs of medicine," he said. Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (L) and photo of Pangilinan in a Rappler article The organisation iMPACT Leadership separately denied it created the image in a statement posted on Facebook May 6 (archived link). AFP has fact-checked other falsehoods related to the 2025 mid-term elections.
CNBC
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
Maria Ressa: Philippines move from Duterte to Marcos is a shift 'from hell to purgatory'
Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and CEO of Rappler discusses the role technology plays in disseminating misinformation in the Philippines Midterm elections, and compares the acts of violence under the two most recent administrations, Marcos and Dutertes.
AFP
11-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Posts misrepresent Philippine vice president's election rally footage
She can be heard saying, "I need to mention your congressman here in this district. He is an example of how we vote automatically for those who are popular, endorsed by someone popular, came from a family of politicians or [as I said earlier] 'that's a Duterte, let's vote for that person'." "You know that congressman of yours? That Joel Chua?" The crowd reacts and shouts a name repeatedly. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on May 7, 2025 Chua led the House of Representatives committee that Duterte's alleged misuse of millions of dollars in public funds, one of the accusations that led to her impeachment in February (archived link). He is also a member of the prosecution in the vice president's forthcoming Senate trial that could remove her from office and bar her from future government posts (archived link). Chua will run against two other candidates -- Ramon Morales and Johanna Nieto -- in Manila's third district in the mid-term elections. The relationship between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos is at a nadir, their former alliance giving way to a months-long public battle that has seen wild accusations traded, including an alleged plot to assassinate Marcos, the first lady, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez (archived link). on TikTok and on Instagram. But the crowd did not chant Marcos's name. A review of a three-hour footage of the election rally streamed live by local news organisation Rappler shows Duterte enumerating how Filipinos should choose the most qualified candidate (archived link). At the video's 3:13:58 mark, Duterte can be heard saying the same words in the circulating clip, then the crowd can be heard shouting "Apple, Apple, Apple." The Commission on Elections's database of candidates for the mid-terms shows "Apple" is Nieto's name, who is backed by Duterte and is gunning for Chua's current post as district representative (archived link). She, along with other local candidates, can be seen onstage while Duterte was speaking. Rappler's livestream shows the crowd as it shouts beginning at the 3:14:50 mark, and people can be seen mouthing "Apple", not "Marcos". A different angle of the interaction, streamed live by another local candidate from behind Duterte, also shows the crowd chanting Nieto's nickname at the clip's 7:26 mark (archived link). Later, towards the end of Duterte's speech, at the Rappler livestream's 3:45:51 mark, Duterte called Nieto to her side. The vice president handed her an apple and told her to "shove [the fruit] down Chua's throat until he chokes to death." Other local news outlets covered this campaign rally, as well as Duterte's criticism of Chua (archived here and here). Fact-check organisation Vera Files has also debunked the claim.
