Organizer: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

Type/Location: Virtual

Description:

Issues surrounding the South China Sea have become central to the Philippines’ national agenda and public discourse, amplified by the country’s heavy reliance on social media. Since the Marcos Jr. government adopted a more assertive “transparency initiative” in its approach to issues in the South China Sea, competing narratives that either support or undermine Philippine national interests have spread across social platforms and into mainstream media. This webinar brings together journalists and researchers to examine the nature, mechanisms, and impact of disinformation and influence operations related to the South China Sea. Speakers will analyse key narratives shaping public opinion, efforts to undermine strategic interests, and campaigns targeting journalists, academics, officials, and the public at large.

About the Speakers:

Janina Santos is an analyst and local coordinator for Doublethink Lab, a Taiwan-based organisation that researches Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). In this capacity, she conducts FIMI investigations while also training media practitioners, civil society organisations, and defence professionals to do the same. Prior to joining Doublethink Lab, Ms Santos was a Defense Research Officer with the Philippine Navy.

Giano Libot works at the intersection of digital power, media integrity, and democratic advocacy, supporting newsrooms, civil society, and international partners in responding to propaganda and influence operations. A former journalist, he holds advanced training in Digital Innovations from the University of Geneva and was a 2022 Summer Fellow with the Digital Sherlocks program of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab in Brussels.

Regine Cabato is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She recently completed a postgraduate degree in Politics and International Relations, with a track in Southeast Asia, at SOAS University of London. She was a fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and was shortlisted for a Livingston Award as well as the Society of Publishers in Asia’s Young Journalist Award.

Registration:

To attend the event virtually, please register here.