A research project focused on hate speech and human rights submitted by Fundação Getulio Vargas’ Department of Public Policy Analysis (FGV DAPP) was the only Brazilian proposal out of 25 ones selected in a global research contest by Facebook Research to study disinformation and polarization.

“The selection of FGV DAPP’s proposal constitutes recognition of a project that goes beyond everyday monitoring, developed by an education and research center known for its academic excellence,” said FGV DAPP’s director, Marco Aurelio Ruediger.

The research project, called The Circulation of Dangerous Speech in the 2020 Brazilian Elections, was selected out of more than 1,000 proposals put forward by 600 institutions in 77 countries, to explore new perspectives on issues such as health disinformation, polarization and digital education.

The work will be divided into three fundamental subjects: the content and propagation of online hate speech; the relationship between the dissemination of dangerous messages and the spreading of fake news and disinformation; and the implications of hate speech and fake news for the upcoming Brazilian elections.

Facebook issued a request for proposals in February, to fund independent studies to help understand the phenomena of polarization and disinformation. In the long term, it is hoped that these studies may aid Facebook in formulating policies, tools and interventions. The social network is running its public contest independently, and it will not participate in the research process or publication of results. Other research projects selected by Facebook include ones proposed by global centers of excellence such as the University of Oxford, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College and Northwestern University.