Whatnext.law organised the event ‘Fake News: Challenges for Democracy and Society’, which took place in the António de Magalhães Cardoso auditorium at VdA in Lisbon. At the event, experts debated the impact of fake news on the democratic fabric, on society and on the fundamental rights of freedom of information and expression.
Telmo Gonçalves, member of the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC), opened the speeches by saying that disinformation is a violation of freedom of expression and a serious threat to contemporary democracies, arguing that one of the best ways to combat it is by publicly deconstructing the cases observed through the concerted efforts of various players (media, observatories, researchers, official bodies).
The panel debate, moderated by Tiago Bessa, Partner at VdA, brought together leading figures. André Veríssimo, director of the newspaper ECO, discussed the role of the media in combating disinformation. Susana Salgado, a professor at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon, emphasised the importance of media literacy in enabling citizens to discern between facts and manipulation. Paulo Couraceiro, from the Informal Group on Media Literacy (GILM), brought an investigative perspective on the phenomenon of disinformation, while João Pedro Figueiredo, legal consultant and researcher, explored the legal challenges inherent in combating fake news.
The event closed with reflections from Felipe Pathé Duarte, deputy director of CEDIS at NOVA School of Law, who emphasised the need for collaborative solutions between regulators, educators and the technology sector to mitigate the negative effects of fake news.
