Brexit, Donald Trump’s election, and Cambridge Analytica have shed light on the emerging and alarming trend of post-truth politics in the U.S. and UK, fueled by populist movements and social media manipulation. There has been less focus on how this trend is influencing Latin American politics.
As five Latin American countries—representing almost 70 percent of the region’s population—prepare for democratic presidential elections in 2018, political campaign strategies that appeal to emotions, rather than fact-based, objective communications, are increasingly driving the agenda across the region. Post-truth strategies have emerged in news stories, social media apps, and candidate statements. They deliberately aim to misinform or deceive public opinion on issues like gender, drug policy, and migration.
What do we know about these practices, and how are they replicated or contested across the region? What are the implications of the post-truth era for upcoming elections? To investigate these questions, please join Open Society for an event featuring a panel discussion with experts from Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico and a screening of clips from the Guardian’s Cambridge Analytica coverage and from award-winning filmmaker Marc Silver’s full-length documentary, To End a War.
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Speakers
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Antonio Martínez Velázquez
Speaker
Antonio Martínez Velázquez is director of Grupo Cultural Horizontal in Mexico.
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Carlos Cortés
Speaker
Carlos Cortés is an internet policy and freedom of expression consultant in Colombia.
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Pablo Ortellado
Speaker
Pablo Ortellado is director of the Research Group on Public Policies for Access to Information, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
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Yanina Valdivieso
Speaker
Yanina Valdivieso is the creative producer of To End a War. She lives in Colombia.
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Catalina Perez Correa
Moderator
Catalina Perez Correa (moderator) is a professor in the Legal Studies Division of the Center for Research and Teaching of Economics (CIDE) in Mexico.
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