On November 3, FGV’s Department of Public Policy Analysis (DAPP) participated in the 3^rd Annual Conference organized by the Center for the Study of Media and Society in Argentina (MESO), to present a study that compares the patterns of use and dissemination of Fake News during electoral periods in Brazil and abroad. Researchers Tatiana Terra and Danilo Carvalho presented the analysis to discuss the use of bots and fake news for manipulating debates on social networks.

This study is an outcome of the DAPP’s analysis of the manipulation of public debate by automated accounts on the networks, which influenced important moments in Brazilian politics, and is part of the Politics on the Net applied research track. The Department has developed a number of studies in order to qualify the public debate on the web by identifying groups that disseminate information.  The study ‘Bots, social networks, and politics in Brazil’ started a long debate about the role of social networks, which has continued with the work presented at the Conference.

“The results of the DAPP’s study revealed the use of junk news for all political support poles in the second round of the 2014 presidential elections, with greater concentration in groups with less penetration of traditional media. The Department’s participation in the Conference allowed our proposals for methodological progress to be considered and discussed by reference researchers in the field of knowledge, such as Pablo Boczkowski (Northwestern University) and Richard Rogers (University of Amsterdam),” said researcher Danilo Carvalho.

The Conference takes place annually and this year’s theme was the contemporary challenges of the media, culture, and society in Latin America. Its main purpose is to spread information and discussions regarding advances in the field of communication, fostering dialogue and different perspectives on the subject. The event was attended by researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the United States, and Spain.