Many of these groups and pages associate it with 666, the Mark of the Beast that would be administered around the world according to a certain reading of Revelation and other end-time passages in the Bible. “This became acute with COVID-19 vaccines. Rappler screenshotsĬornelio said that religious groups that spread end times-related conspiracy theories draw on fundamentalist readings. A post claiming that the COVID-19 lockdown is a sign of the apocalypse got the highest interactions among all the false claims found in faith groups and pages. This is why the New World Order theory is popular among these groups because many believe that it fulfills the end time prophecies in the Bible – that the establishment of a “one world government” and “one world religion” signifies the second coming of Christ. When conspiracy theories are shared in faith groups, they are often linked to Biblical prophecies, particularly the rapture and apocalypse. In a religious society like the Philippines, being able to couch your ideas in affective and spiritual language makes them more appealing,” said Jayeel Cornelio, professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and an expert on the sociology of religion in the Philippines. “The religious language is part and parcel of the disinformation narrative. What makes faith groups distinct from the other communities that share disinformation is their use of religious language that appeals to one’s morals and emotions. On Facebook, 16.77% of the groups and pages that have shared conspiracy theories like this since 2020 belong to communities of faith groups. These false claims are not only shared by political or fringe groups who oppose the restrictions brought by the pandemic. They have warned against taking the COVID-19 vaccines because they claim that it is all part of the creation of a “one world government.” But in a country where eight out of 10 Filipinos are Roman Catholics, there is an online community that is often left unchecked: the faith or spiritual groups.įor instance, conspiracy theorists have often linked the COVID-19 pandemic to the New World Order, or the theory that a cabal of globalists is plotting to take totalitarian control of the world. MANILA, Philippines – When talking about disinformation in the Philippines, the usual sources that come to mind are politically charged accounts. An expert encourages theologians to practice public theology to educate religious Filipinos and help them become more aware, so that they will not be used as tools in spreading false information online.Other types of disinformation, such as those related to politics and online scams, are also found in faith groups. Rather, they contain interpretations of biblical prophecies or misleading statements that play on the beliefs of their members. Some of the harmful content found in these groups are harder to fact-check because they do not contain details that can be easily debunked.Unlike in political groups and pages that are often fact-checked, disinformation in faith groups can be more subtle, but still insidious, because of the use of spiritual language.Members of faith and spiritual groups on Facebook are exposed to disinformation, particularly conspiracy theories.
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