We all have one of them in our lives. Sometimes, it’s a co-worker. Sometimes, it’s that neighbour down the street. Sometimes, it’s a justice secretary who likes to spread allegations about opposition members without legitimate basis.
On that note, here are some tips on dealing with the Aguirres in your own life. Barring confrontation, of course. Or murder.
Step 1. Avoid or ignore them
Oftentimes, people who are like this only do it for the attention. They spread gossip (a.k.a. fake news) because they’re attention seekers, and the more scandalous “intel” they have about another person, the more their ego is fed.
To defuse that toxic fire, the best thing to do is ignore them. Just let them be, and when they no longer have power over the way you live your life or do your job, watch as they fizzle away.
Step 2. Question them.
If you can’t avoid them, ask them. Keep asking questions to get to the root of their fakeness. Other than needing to be the center of attention, there might be a deeper reason why these people do what they do. Or a bigger agenda.
Try asking them a series of little questions, and watch them unravel along with the inconsistencies of their alternative facts.
Step 3. Disprove them.
When a fake person spreads some lie about you, the whole world is your evidence against them. So when a justice secretary linking you and other vocal critics of President Duterte to the May 23 siege in Marawi City and the shooting that happened in Resorts World Manila, show them your receipts.
It can be an official record showing that you were nowhere near where they said you were. It could be a press conference of another person refuting said justice secretary’s claims. Take your pick.
Writer: ANTHEA REYES
