The Philippines, situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences recurring seismic events that are increasingly mediated through digital communication environments. In a media landscape where platforms such as Facebook, X, and TikTok function as primary spaces for real-time information exchange, earthquake communication is shaped by emotion, immediacy, and algorithm-driven practices alongside institutional advisories. During seismic events such as the Cebu earthquakes and Mindanao seismic swarms, social media platforms became saturated with fabricated earthquake predictions, recycled disaster footage, AI-generated images, pseudoscientific explanations, and unverified tsunami warnings that circulated more rapidly than official advisories from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, contributing to heightened public anxiety and disaster-related infodemics. Drawing from Crisis Informatics, Information Ecology Theory, and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework, this study examined how earthquake misinformation was communicated and amplified within Philippine social media spaces. Using qualitative thematic discourse analysis of publicly accessible posts gathered through web scraping and keyword searches across Facebook, X, and TikTok, findings revealed that posts that used fear, urgency, and manipulated visuals tended to receive significantly higher levels of circulation and engagement than scientific or educational content. The study further demonstrated how participatory sharing practices, collective memory, and platform visibility and sharing dynamics amplified digital panic and transformed recurring disaster rumors, including narratives such as the “Chona Mae” tsunami panic, into enduring forms of digital folklore within Philippine online communities.

Authors:
Apple Grace Bonhoc-Ybañez, Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Assoc. Prof. Apple Grace L. Bonhoc-Ybañez, DComm, is Service-Learning Hub Coordinator at Ateneo de Davao University. Her interests include organizational communication, disaster communication, feminism, and community-engaged learning.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/apple-grace-bonhoc-ybañez-5a5973113

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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