In a year in which eight countries in the region go to the ballot boxes, the risks of the spread of false information become a reality. Like part of the III Global Summit on Disinformation (September 27 and 28), the role of the media in the fight against disinformation will be one of the central topics of the event. International experts will share their views under the title «Electoral disinformation: a threat to democracy.» The meeting is online and free with previous registration at this link.
Defined as the deliberate generation and dissemination of false information to manipulate public opinion, electoral disinformation affects audiences and negatively impacts their freedom to speech, information and decision-making, a phenomenon that affects an informed and free vote.
During the Summit there will be presentations by Silvio Waisbord (director and professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, United States), Daniel Dessein (president of the Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities ADEPA) and Sérgio Lüdtke (journalist and editor of Projeto Comprova, Brazil).
From various perspectives, the experts will analyze the phenomenon of electoral disinformation, while breaking down mechanisms to counter it. “Disinformation must be understood in historical, sociological and political terms. It must be analyzed in its connection (or not) with ways of giving meaning to politics, public participation, collective identities and perception of governments and services”, warns the argentine researcher based in the United States, Silvio Waisbord.
Meanwhile, the president of ADEPA, Daniel Dessein affirms: «The role of journalism is more important than ever before, because when disinformation spreads and societies are polarized, our democratic systems are weakened”.
Sergio Lüdtke will bring the Brazilian example, where in 2022 false and misleading publications about the candidates Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flooded social networks. “What we see is content that is not necessarily false in itself, but that leads to misleading interpretations. And that disinformation has a lasting effect that probably remains in various sectors of society”, he says.
The III Global Summit on Disinformation is organized by the Inter-American Press Association, the Foundation for Journalism (Bolivia) and Desconfío Project (Argentina).
The event has the support of the Google News Initiative, the International Fact-Checking Network, the United States Embassy in Argentina, United Nations Argentina and BancoSol of Bolivia. It is a free and online event, which requires previous registration at www.cumbredesinformacion.com.
Accompanying the Summit: International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), the National Press Association of Chile; GABO Foundation, DW Akademie, Infoveritas, Colombian Media Association (AMI), Association of Argentinean Journalistic Entities (ADEPA), Medianálisis, Bolivia Verifica and United Nations Bolivia.