Experiencing discrimination, displacement and loss from the Marawi Siege, young leaders Moner Ramos-Datu, Najeb Hadji Ali, and Amaliah Sultanbatao from Lanao del Sur province, worked together to fight against disinformation. Through their social media campaign, ‘KNALedge’, created during EAI Philippines Tech Camp in 2022 and their Peace Promotion Fellowship (PPF) project #DigiTalino, more youth in Lanao are now equipped with critical and digital thinking skills to address disinformation in their communities.

After participating in one of the #DigiTalino workshops, I became more conscious about the way I consume information seen or read on social media, without fact-checking it first. I am more aware of how disinformation works and how it is becoming prevalent on social media platforms,” shared 18-year-old Abdul Raffy Gato.

Using the Tech Camp as a springboard in launching KNALedge, a social media campaign focused on fact-checking news and information in Lanao communities, the team achieved and continues to build a strong online presence and engagement with a total of 112.3K Facebook page reach, to date. Following the success of their campaign, KNALedge was soon recognized and accredited as a youth organization in Lanao del Sur province.

Maximizing their reach through the PPF, KNALedge implemented #DigiTalino (a portmanteau of the words ‘digital’ and Filipino word ‘talino’ which means intellect) – a campaign for junior and senior high school leaders to become key movers in the fight against information. They trained and equipped 14 core volunteers with digital literacy skills and reached an additional 102 students from 15 schools all over Marawi City, and the municipalities of Marantao and Balindong.

 

As digital natives, the team highlighted their mission to let the younger generation understand the transformative power of social media. More than enhancing their capacities, they support the students in doing school-based learning sessions to continue the ripple of truth-telling in schools and communities.

In Islam, telling the truth is one of the highest forms of faith. It is a form of jihad. When we instill the value of truth in young people, we remind them of their faith. So, we really wanted to work with these young people to not just become empowered leaders but also leaders that are truth-tellers,” shared Amaliah.

These young leaders aim to bring the power of truth and critical thinking to hard-to-reach areas of Lanao Province to continue building a cohort of informed young leaders equipped with tools to amplify the right narrative.