The federal government announced and later aborted the creation of a monitoring system for Pix transactions above R$ 5,000 for individuals and R$ 15,000 for companies, a measure aimed at combating tax evasion. The decision generated strong negative repercussions, driven by misinformation, such as the video circulated by Deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), highlighting the impact of fake news on communication, social behavior, and even public policies, such as the decline in Pix usage and the reversal of the measure.
To address these issues, it is essential to highlight initiatives and tools to combat disinformation and reinforce the importance of critical consumption of information, both at an individual and institutional level.
For Antônio Rocha Filho, a Journalism professor at ESPM, it is not the first time that major events are impacted by misinformation.“One of the best-known episodes occurred in the 2016 American elections, when information circulated that Pope Francis was supposedly supporting Donald Trump's candidacy against Hillary Clinton, which was later denied.”
The advancement of technology and the use of artificial intelligence further expand the possibilities of spreading misinformation. According to Rocha Filho
“The advancement of artificial intelligence tools has worsened the spread of disinformation, with manipulated content, such as fake voices and images, surpassing the ability to check. This scenario is intensified by Meta’s recent decision to suspend fact-checking in the US and by the lack of progress in regulation in Brazil, such as the fake news bill in Congress. Combating it requires media literacy, promoting critical thinking from basic education onwards, and efficient regulation to mitigate the impacts, especially in the political arena.”
Ricardo Gandour, researcher and also journalism professor at ESPM, adds:
“The fragmentation of communication has intensified over the last 10 years. On the one hand, we have the healthy universalization of access to information. On the other, the dangerous spread of information designed to confuse, representing a risk to institutions and democracy.”
The data from the 21st edition of the Political Panorama survey, conducted by DataSenado Institute, reinforce the severity of the problem. The research revealed that 72% of social media users in Brazil have encountered news they consider false in the last six months, an alarming figure on the eve of the 2024 municipal elections. Furthermore, half of the respondents reported difficulty in identifying false content, highlighting the need for greater media literacy.
