Award-winning veteran actress Dexter Doria has ventured into vlogging as part of her efforts to tackle fake news and misinformation on social media.
Doria created the character “Nana Didi”, who worked as a public school teacher for 43 years before she retired and took the role of taking care of her grandchildren.
But Nana Didi decided to end her retirement and create a vlog after seeing the social media posts of her former students regarding the so-called Tallano gold, ‘golden years of Martial Law’ and the prevalence of misinformation on social media.
“Happily retired na ako, hanggang nakita ko yung mga post ng mga dati kong estudyante. Aba, parang hindi ko naturuan!” Nana Didi said.
“So naisip ko mag-DDS… Not that kind. DIDI as in Didiserye. That’s me na gagawa ng serye para mulatin ang mga mata,” she added.
In her latest vlog, Nana Didi discussed the Tallano gold, which was allegedly owned by the Tallano family of the Maharlika Kingdom, which occurred before the Spaniards conquered the Philippines.
“Noong tinuturuan ko kayo ng world at Philippine history, wala akong naaalalang binanggit tungkol sa Tallano o Maharlika Kingdom. ‘Yang lesson natin today!” said Nana Didi.
According to claims on social media, the descendants of the Tallano family obtained the services of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a lawyer and paid him a commission of 192,000 tons of gold bars worth $4 trillion.
“Sobra sobra naman itong ginto ni Apo Lakay. Sumobra pa sa bilang ng total na ginto sa buong mundo!” said Nana Didi, who said that the entire world only has a total of 200,000 tons of gold.
Based on claims by Marcos supporters, the said gold will be distributed to the Filipino people once his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wins as president in 2022.
“At paano ka naman maniniwala rito? Si dayunyor nga e ayaw magbayad ng taxes. At yung nanay, convicted sa pagnanakaw!” Nana Didi said.
“Tapos aasa ka na mamimigay ng ginto o pera ‘pag nanalo? Ang Ilocos nga hindi niya maiahon… ikaw pa ba ang bibigyan ng pera? Ng ginto?” she added
Nana Didi also tackled confirmation bias, or the tendency to look for or read information that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values.
“Lalong tumitibay ang confirmation bias. Kaya dapat kilalaning mabuti ang sarili at kilatisin ang mga info na binaba. Hindi paninira ang pagsasabi ng totoo,” Nana Didi said.
Nana Didi also discussed the claim of some that the Martial Law period was considered as the country’s “golden years.”
“Ang naka-post sa social media, sabi raw ng kanilang mga lolo at lola, maayos na maayos ang Pilipinas noong panahon ni Ferdinand Marcos. Libre raw ang tubig at kuryente. Disiplinado raw ang mga Pilipino. Sagana ang buhay,” she said.
She however debunked the misinformation, saying that when the dictator was removed from power, the country’s foreign debt was placed at $28.3 billion from just $360 million in 1962.
“Libreng kuryente ba kamo? ‘Di totoo. Yung sinasabing Bataan Nuclear plant na nagkahalaga ng 2.3 billion dollars ay hindi man lang nabuksan dahil mali ang pagplano at mapanganib sa kalusugan,” Nana Didi said.
She added that Marcos amassed ill-gotten wealth worth around $10 billion while “crony capitalism” flourished during his watch, where his friends bagged huge contracts without any bidding
“Sinabi nga ba ni Lola na mura ang mga bilihin noon? Ang totoo? ‘Yung inflation noong 1984 ay umabot ng 50 percent, at pahirapan pa ang mga bilihin,” she also clarified.
Nana Didi advised the public not to believe anything they read online, saying they first need to verify its veracity.
“Magmula ngayon, maniwala lang kapag napatunayang totoo. Sundan ninyo ang DidiSerye para malaman ang totoo sa peke at ‘wag magpagoyo,” she said.
Various artists have lauded and expressed support for Nana Didi by sharing her ‘Didi Serye’vlogs on their respective social media pages, including actresses Pinky Amador and Rita Avila, Arman Ferrer, Mark Escueta of Rivermaya, and Bart Guingona.
