EDSA-pwera? Unmasking the lies of EDSA

ARTICLE: HANNAH KRISTINE JUAN | FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Misinformation is a major factor why some of the Filipino youth do not realize the essence of the EDSA People Power Revolution. During the revolt, the youth has become the strength that contributed to the downfall of Former President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. However, as we face the same situation where misinformation and historical distortions are pervasive, how will the new generation disseminate facts about the EDSA revolution?

According to Rappler, misinformation and historical revisionism were “uncontrollable” in 2016 as thousands of propaganda were produced through different networks and the social media. The content of these propagandas show how the Marcoses perceive public perception by denying their human rights violations during Martial Law.

As misinformation towards the EDSA revolution became rampant, “fake news” and inaccurate stories spread rapidly. This causes manipulation for the youth who are becoming more dependent on social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

These digital sites are used to manipulate public perception and undermine democracy that led public opinion to favor the interest of a particular group or individual–mostly politicians. It was hard to avoid these types of applications, especially for younger people, but a proper and careful media consumption could have made these platforms beneficial rather than detrimental to their informed decisions.

Currently, factual errors and blatant displays of misinformation in textbooks massively affect how youth view the Marcoses and its allies. In 2022, militant youth group Anakbayan called out the Department of Education (DepEd) after a textbook, titled ‘Lakbay ng Lahing Pilipino 5,’ insisted that rallies and rebel movements were the reason behind the EDSA Revolution.

Just this January, a television commercial advocating for charter change used the worldplay “EDSA-pwera.” Such forms of attack and misinformation is an institutional problem that causes the youth to be swayed easily by misleading data.

Proper education on fact-checking is a way to debunk and help them distinguish the truth behind the revolution. The DepEd can also contribute to counter this challenge by lessening widespread false information through making a stand against miseducating students.

The role

As time passes by, the memory of EDSA People Power grows hazy. It worsens, as historical distortion seeps into the narrative and twists proven truths into convenient fiction.

Ian Vargas, a student from Bicol University, said that one of the keys to reliving the EDSA revolution is for the youth to be active and fearless in advocating changes in society. Since 2016, the student leader has been conducting an “EDSA People Power Caravan” to educate students about the revolt’s importance in their campus every February.

Vargas believes that the challenges faced by the country may be solved if the youth refuse to forget the lessons of EDSA because keeping the spirit of revolution alive, indeed, fights injustice and violence.

Picking facts

19-year-old University of the Philippines student Karl Patrick Suyat created a network titled ‘Project Gunita’ that aims to defend historical truth. For Suyat, it is crucial for young Filipinos to know the truth about the abuses committed under Martial Law, leading him to create a network that helps the new generation tackle information regarding the EDSA revolution.

Today, as the new regime underhandedly decided to demoralize the People Power, the EDSA revolution is more at risk of being forgotten than before but this doesn't suggest forgetting the sacrifices of those who fought for the Philippine democracy.

It was true that we still have systemic societal difficulties like poverty, malnutrition, corruption and abuse that cannot be remedied by the bloodless revolution; however, this event became a historic turning point.

In its 38th anniversary, the new generation must remember the important lessons of EDSA and not be dazzled by a storm of misinformation aiming to twist the narrative of its lifelong message to the youth.

May our youthful power remember that healing is not forgetting the past nor is it forgetting the pain. Healing is remembering and learning the memory of those who sacrificed for the freedom of the new generation.

A revolution should do more than bring a change of regime or leaders; it should change the system and give people the power to fight for their rights.