Info-tainment can work: Check out Dapat Totoo series on voters education

CHEERS TO the #DapatTotoo series of GMA Integrated News for taking a fresh approach to voter education. Its Elections 2025 digital campaign “#DapatTotoo” has found an effective way to reach out to and engage younger, digital-savvy voters.

According to the Commission on Elections, 63 percent of the voting population is composed of Generation Z (Gen Z), born from 2007 to 1997, and the Millennials, born from 1981 to 1996. These are ages 18 to 44 years old.  

#DapatTotoo, a 12-part video series presented throughout the month of February, has featured reports across social media platforms to draw parallels between the gimmicks used by political campaigns and the experience of modern romantic relationships.  Using popular Gen Z or millennial lingo, the series made voter education more relatable, entertaining, and informative.  

The campaign took advantage of the widespread adoption of buzzwords commonly used by Gen Zs when talking about modern dating, such as “delulu,” “red flag,” “green flag,” “gaslighting,” and “backburner.”Broadcast reporters adopted a more conversational tone, a refreshing shift from the formal language usually used by on-camera reporters. 

The following are among the most appealing because they present clear parallels familiar to the target audience:

• Nanoships with Atom Araullo, published on February 11, explored how small and warm gestures from politicians leave a lasting impression on voters that could overshadow red flags indicated by past corruption issues and questionable policies. 
• Groundhogging with Mav Gonzales, published on February 11, discussed the pattern of voting the same old politicians as though voters expect them to bring positive changes this nth time around. 
• Gaslighting with Mariz Umali, published on February 13, pointed to the effort of candidates to downplay their record of corrupt practices in office and the need to hold them accountable, posting messages that describe such content as smear campaigns. 
• Breadcrumbing with Raffy Tima, published on February 14, discussed the tendency of voters to settle for politicians and their band-aid solutions; instead of actively choosing candidates who can present long-term solutions to the problems of the country. 

The video series presented the choice of a candidate as a human experience, much like the process of choosing a partner, reviewing the conduct of the partner-cum-candidate. It makes the whole political process more natural, something that one does in life, connecting the vote to the target audience, their relationships, not excluding those connected to the heart. 

The message is clear: choose who you vote by judging the conduct of the candidate as a hypothetical potential life partner who must be subjected to evaluation and discernment. In this light, the process is made simpler and its significance is easier to appreciate and understand. 

Because the target audience experience life in a new way, legacy or traditional media should make every effort to plumb the world as experienced by the new generation of voters, presenting these in terms that are meaningful to them. The elements of modern romance can help enhance the appreciation of the duties of citizenship as a new generation prepares to exercise their vote.  The approach makes sense; it connects the political process to the concerns closest to their hearts. 

Moving forward, the romance will have to give way to the hard part, the continuing evaluation of the object of choice after it is sealed. The terms of the political relationship are clear, which may not apply to the affairs of the heart. The beauty of elections provides the voter for a way out, once the chosen partner is proven unworthy. The election cycle provides an opportunity to break away, without formal process of divorce or separation. The voter is free to move on and evaluate yet another more worthy partner in the person of another candidate. 

Media’s role is to assist the voter in the process of evaluation, making available information about the previous relationships, and keeping tab of the current record of public service. This part rests on pure cold logic. 

Given the dispersal of political news, it has become more difficult for the media to assist voters in making their choice. The vehicles for disinformation are fully mobilized during the election season. Traditional media should learn the ways to counter the spread of falsehood and lies, including the use of social media for the good. 

The primary objective is to arm the voter with as much information about the candidates as possible, providing ample opportunities to see them in action and revealing the quality or lack of it in their campaign organizations and the personnel representing them in the frontlines. The closer the public gets to scrutinize candidates at this stage, the better.