Language: English (mozilla)
Mis- and disinformation are multifaceted phenomena, associated with technical, human and sociopolitical propensity factors. We will start the session with a brief overview of the multiplicity of such factors, and dive into the sociopolitical factors. In particular, we will discuss the weaponization of disinformation by public authorities and the emergence of “technopopulism”, with a focus on the case of Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Indeed, since the 2018 presidential elections, the Brazilian public sphere has been prone to widespread mis-disinformation. We will focus on campaigns that involve and/or have been endorsed by the highest levels of government, including the current president himself, ranging from fires in the Amazon rainforest, to Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine. We will discuss tactics (i.e. WhatsApp), political goals and dangers ahead of the mid-year 2022 elections.
The session is based on an extensive literature review, which sheds light on multiple propensity factors associated with mis- and disinformation. The goal of the session is to contextualize the discussion in different Latin-American countries by crowdsourcing case studies, as well as collectively identify gaps in the literature that are relevant local and/or nationally.
Why did you choose that space? How does your session align with the space description?:The session aligns with the core topic of the space: mis-disinformation, and it contributes to a discussion about its sociopolitical implications - with a focus on Latin-America, a region particularly prone to the impacts of mis-disinformation (as suggested by recent studies).
How will you deal with varying numbers of participants in your session? What if 30 participants attend? What if there are 3?:The main ways foreseen to adapt the session to the number of participants are: 1/ Adapting the number of breakout rooms and/or number of participants per room, 2/ Conducting the discussion in the full group (if number of participants is particularly low). 3/ As the session is based on existent research, the facilitator can go into more or less detail according to time allocated to discussion (which can be adapted according to the number of participants).
What happens after MozFest? We're hoping that many efforts and discussions will continue after MozFest. Share any ideas you already have for how to continue the work from your session.:Two main outputs are foreseen. 1/ The most relevant insights will be incorporated in future research about the topic, with a focus on Latin-America. 2/ Participants will be invited to continue and deepen the discussion in a ‘thematic cycle’ on Eureka, which is expected to contribute to foster awareness, especially in the context of the upcoming elections.
What language would you like to host your session in?:Portuguese, Spanish