Media.com, an Australia-based online reputation management platform, is set to expand verified profiles in the Philippines to combat trolls and promote responsible media engagement.
“The world is experiencing an information crisis because of how and where information is being published,” said James Mawhinney, chief executive officer of Media Dot Com, Inc., in an e-mailed press release to reporters on Monday.
“Readers are being misled by clickbait or misleading articles due to social media platforms being driven by advertiser revenues,” he added.
“In an era where reputations built over many years can be destroyed at lightspeed, a Media.com profile will be indispensable for anyone with a reputation to protect.”
Results from a 2022 poll by Pulse Asia Research, Inc. showed 68% of Filipinos saw or heard fake news on the internet or social media.
People also believed fake news came from friends, family, relatives, community leaders, newspapers, and religious leaders, it said.
“Media.com addresses reputation problems caused by social networks that elevate or prioritize divisive content for engagement,” Mr. Mawhinney said on users being able to quickly react to claims about them on third-party platforms without fear of manipulation or algorithm overshadowing.
“[It] ensures users have a genuine ‘right of reply,’ which is increasingly rare in today’s digital ecosystem,” he added.
X Corp., formerly Twitter, launched its paid verification system earlier this year, alongside the removal of blue check marks from users’ profiles, affecting verified journalists, politicians, government agencies, and companies.
X users now have to pay for a premium account to be verified, from P440/600 per month to P2,720/54,400 per month for organizations.
Media.com claims to be “a world-first platform of its kind,” Mr. Mawhinney said. “With our launch, we aim to provide a secure haven for free expression and protection against misinformation by allowing users to engage, respond & deconstruct all forms of media.”
The platform has incurred profile registration from more than 100 countries, where these will be “activated progressively throughout 2024 on a first-in, first-served basis,” it said. — Miguel Hanz L. Antivola