DOJ asks NBI to set up system for monitoring false, malicious info on social media

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to set up a system for monitoring the spread of "false or malicious" information on social media to help future prosecutions.

"Today we are asking the NBI to establish a system of monitoring the spread of false or malicious information in social media, establishing the source, determining if there's a pattern, habit, or scheme, and taking the appropriate steps to preserve evidence of wrongful behavior for possible prosecution in the future," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday.

Guevarra made the statement when asked if Vice President Leni Robredo's camp needed to ask the NBI for assistance to trace rumors that her office had sent spoiled food to a hospital.

The Justice chief said it was not necessary for Robredo to expressly ask for NBI assistance. Her camp has also not requested an investigation, he said. "But we'll be ready to help should the VP wish to pursue the matter," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

A Facebook user has recently claimed that Robredo's office distributed spoiled food to the frontliners of the Diliman Doctors Hospital in Quezon City. Both Robredo and the hospital have denied the rumor.

The Vice President urged the public to report the Facebook user and those who shared his post.

"If there was no malice, you should have checked first before posting. You should know that posting fake news makes you criminally liable," Robredo said.

Guevarra earlier ordered the NBI to investigate COVID-19-related fake news online, a directive that has led to the bureau's cybercrime division summoning several social media users, including Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Deputy Administrator Mocha Uson, over their posts.

Cybercrime division chief Victor Lorenzo said their cases on "fake news" are now being evaluated before authorities decide whether or not to file complaints before the DOJ. — RSJ, GMA News