ADC runs successful regional debate on disinformation
With the attendance of more than thirty experts from ten different countries, the Association for Civil Rights (ADC) organized the workshop Defying Disinformation in Latin America: Strategies, Initiatives and Key Actors in the Region on November 27 and 28, gathering organizations committed to the fight against this type of propaganda, and exchanging local views on the challenges and current initiatives to counteract it.
Held jointly with the Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation in the Portal Room of the Hotel Libertador, the eight sessions of the event addressed multiple aspects of the phenomenon, from the analysis of common patterns and divergences within the Latin American region to identifying key actors in the design and execution of misinformation campaigns. In addition, different strategies and regional initiatives were presented through different case studies.
The workshop concluded with a discussion on the appropriate role of government regulation, avoiding both deficient or excessive degrees of control, which leave the problem largely unattended in the former case and imply potential conflicts with freedom of expression in the latter.
“ADC’s endeavor to run this activity, together with the Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation, is a significant step. Our organization has a tradition of opening debate spaces and being able to do so on such a relevant topic as disinformation is a great satisfaction,” said Deputy Executive Director Alejandro Segarra during the event’s closing.
The meeting was attended by Dominik Hierlemann, Cathleen Berger and Charlotte Freihse (Bertelsmann Stiftung), Alexandre Aragão (Aos Fatos), professor and researcher Martín Becerra (CONICET, UBA, UNQ), Lucía Camacho (Derechos Digitales), Andrés Cañizález (Cotejo), Arturo Daen (El Sabueso), Matías Di Santi (Chequeado), María José De Icaza (Article 19), Hernán Goncalves Figueredo (National Election Court), David Hidalgo Vega (Ojo Público), Horacio Lutzky (Audio-visual Media Consumer Protection Office), Iná Jost (InternetLab), Iván Kirschbaum and María Fernanda Martínez (CETyS), journalist Virginia Kirst, lawyer and specialist in freedom of expression Damián Loreti, Communication Sciences expert and professor (UBA) Carolina Martínez Elebi, Alejandro Moreno (Linterna Verde), Eleonora Navatta (Ojo Público), Cecilia Ortiz (Movilizatorio), Javier Pallero (Contextual), César Paredes (FLIP), Adrián Pino and Guadalupe López (Proyecto Desconfío), Patricia Reyes (Fundación Multitudes), Raisa Urribarri (ULA, Venezuela / CIEPS, Panamá) and Luciana Veiga (Fundación Getulio Vargas).
