Evaluating the Communication Approaches of Political Campaigns Online of Female UST-SHS Students: How Electoral Disinformation and Online Attacks Influence Feminist Discourse Using Facebook

Abstract

 One of the implications of social media is its ability to provide unrealistic goals for politicians aspiring for national positions, causing social media users to rush their decisions of accepting these messages as truth and disregard other reliable sources of information. This study aims to explore how participation and communication plays an important role in effectively discerning qualified candidates, accessing political risks, conducting negotiations to reduce conflicts, and mediating opposing views of the situation. Young women, particularly first-time voters, are the focus of this study, as communication scholars perceive them as the most vulnerable members of the online community, especially when voicing their opinions on social media. Women aged 18 and 19 years old from HUMSS Strand in University of Santo Tomas Senior High School, Manila participated in a focus group discussion that targeted their experiences in communicating their political views, including their preferred candidates and their perception of disinformation online. Through the frameworks of sense-making, findings and results were analyzed to show negative comments regarding politicians and opinion-makers promoting disinformation and how young female learners can improve their communication approaches to people with diverse online culture.