Government foresees partnership with influencers against fake news – 05/31/2023 – Education

The Lula government plans to develop a partnership with digital influencers in actions that promote education for the use of social media and the fight against fake news. In addition to the collaboration for the dissemination of content with this theme, the project foresees the appointment of influencers as “ambassadors of media education”.

This was one of the plans listed by the government’s Secretariat for Communication (Secom) in a recently launched public consultation on media education strategies in the country. The term, which has been gaining space in the public debate, refers to an education aimed at promoting a healthier use of technology. Among its objectives are the fight against fake news, hate speech, “cyberbullying” and the harm caused by excessive use of screens, especially among children and adolescents.

The public consultation, which will accept comments from society via the Internet until June 15, was prepared by a new body within the structure of the federal government, created by Lula, the Secretariat for Digital Policies, subordinated to Secom. João Brant, graduated in radio and TV and with a doctorate in political science from the University of São Paulo, is in charge.

Last week, at a media education event at ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing), in São Paulo, Brant mentioned a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which points out that fake news in the Twitter circulates 70% more than real news. He also recalled the existence of content encouraging the suicide of children and young people on TikTok.

Brant said that the government should launch, in the second half of the year, an orientation guide on the relationship of children and adolescents with screens, addressing the damage that technology has caused to mental health, cognitive development and the ability to concentrate. He stated that the material should be produced in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. He also said that the government should create a television program with EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação), to be shown on TV Brasil.

The public consultation provides for partnerships with commercial radio and TV stations to carry out campaigns, in addition to an eventual mandatory transmission of educational programs, something with potential for controversy. For this, he cites a decree-law of 1967, complementary to the Brazilian Telecommunications Code, of 1962, which defines, among other rules, the mandatory transmission of educational programs, in addition to considering a crime or contravention of radio and television stations “abuse ” as “offending public family morals or good customs” and “collaborating in the practice of rebellion, disorders or prohibited demonstrations”.

On this aspect, Victor Martins Pimenta, director of the Department of Network Rights and Media Education, of the Secretariat of Digital Policies, responded to the Sheet that the intention is to use an agreement already signed between the MEC and Abert, the association of radios and TVs, in force since 1991. Under the agreement, the mandatory transmission of up to five hours per week of educational programs stipulated in that decree-law is replaced by daily inserts, throughout the schedule, of MEC stock announcements.

The public consultation advocates that media education be included in schools and that, for this, there is specific training for teachers in this area. It also provides for the production and dissemination of pedagogical content for media education on MEC’s ​​digital platforms, in addition to encouraging the development of teaching materials on this topic through two government programs, the PNDL (Programa Nacional do Livro e do Didactic Material) and PNBE (Library at School), which buys didactic and literary works for public schools and school libraries.

Secom’s text mentions phenomena of digital life that have a great impact on childhood mental health, such as “cyberbullying practices, the occurrence of body image and self-esteem disorders and the risks of sexuality, nudity, sexting (digitally sending sexual content ), sexual abuse and virtual rape”. Provides for articulation with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, in addition to the MEC.

In addition to actions within schools, there are plans for workshops for adult audiences, considering greater economic, social and information vulnerability, “such as elderly people, indigenous communities, quilombolas, waste pickers, among others”.

“One of the biggest problems we experience on the internet today is the large circulation of false news, misinformation and hate speech”, says Pimenta, the director of the Secretariat for Digital Policies, who was one of those responsible for preparing the public consultation.

“Knowing how to differentiate facts from opinions, knowing the ways to identify and report fake news and violent content are essential skills in this context”, says he, who has a degree in law from USP and a master’s degree in human rights and citizenship from UNB. “Media education works as a vaccine for the population to protect itself and for the full exercise of citizenship in the digital environment.”

The result of this consultation will be discussed at a public hearing on June 22.