March 30, 2025
by Althea Nicole N. Leoncito
In an era of deepfakes and disinformation, 72% of Gen Z voters say they distrust traditional campaign ads (Pulse Asia, 2024). First-time voters are now fact-checking politicians with tools and tactics older generations never had—and the 2025 Philippine elections will be their proving ground.
The Gen Z Voter Surge
– 15.3 million young Filipinos (18-24) are eligible to vote in 2025—23% of the electorate (COMELEC, 2024).
– 89% of Gen Z voters say social media is their primary news source, yet 64% cross-check claims with independent fact-checkers (Reuters Institute, 2024).
How Gen Z Researches Candidates
- Social Media Forensics
– Reverse Image Searches: Exposed a 2023 viral post falsely inflating a rally’s crowd size using recycled 2015 images.
– Hashtag Tracking: Analysis by #FactsFirstPH found 30% of #Marcos2025 posts were bot-generated (similar to 2022’s “NPA surrenderer” deepfake scandal).
– Deepfake Detection: Apps like Hive AI and InVID flagged 11 AI-generated campaign videos in Q1 2024 alone.
- Policy Fact-Checking
– Platform Comparisons: YouthVotePH’s “Promise Tracker” reveals only 42% of 2022 candidates fulfilled key pledges (e.g., free college tuition).
– Track Record Digging: PolitiKo.ph’s data shows Senator X voted against the SOGIE Bill 5 times despite claiming LGBTQ+ allyship.
– 68% of Gen Z prioritize a candidate’s voting history over speeches (IBON Foundation, 2024).
- Grassroots Accountability
– Town Hall Report Cards: UP Diliman student orgs graded candidates on:
– Substance: Only 3/10 answered questions directly in a March 2024 forum.
– Transparency: 0% of local candidates disclosed full donor lists.
– “Adopt-a-Candidate” initiatives: Volunteers in Cebu exposed 5 inconsistent statements about infrastructure projects in one month.
How Politicians Try to Trick Young Voters
– Astroturfing: A 2024 investigation revealed fake “youth-led” pages were run by PR firms charging ₱500K/month.
– Greenwashing: Candidate Y’s “eco-warrior” ads hid his family’s ₱2B mining investments (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism).
– Tokenism: A viral TikTok showed a congresswoman’s “Gen Z team” was just her three nieces in hoodies.
Red Flag Alert: If a candidate’s youth engagement consists of scripted Tiktok dances but no concrete job plans, it’s performative.
The Bottom Line
Gen Z’s digital literacy is reshaping democracy:
– 81% say they’ll boycott candidates spreading misinformation (Laylo Research, 2024).
– Voter registration among youth surged by 28% after TikTok campaigns explaining ballot relevance.
The message is clear: Gen Z’s electoral influence will be defined not by viral moments or celebrity endorsements, but by cold, hard facts—and politicians who fail to meet this standard of proof will find themselves irrelevant in the new era of politics.
To Gen Z: Keep weaponizing your curiosity
To Candidates: Gen Z demands receipts, not rhetoric. Adapt or lose.