How can we combat the effects of disinformation?

To address such a complex concept as misinformation, it is necessary to analyze the interests that exist associated with it. As Carlos Rul·lan stated: "Disinformation is so serious that it affects the democratic quality of a country, since sometimes we do not vote with all the possible information." As proof and example that disinformation already affects electoral processes, Rul·lan affirmed that "In the European elections we already detected that disinformation campaigns were almost nonexistent, although there were, so we should not lower our guard" .

José Antonio Rubio, in relation to the authorities and companies that work for transparency in the electoral processes, affirmed: "we have detected a concern for the concept of protection within the electoral processes". On the role of citizens to counteract the dangers of misinformation, Rubio added that "in these processes philosophy is very important when it comes to reflecting. Many people live in a kind of 'Plato's Cave' and prefer to remain in their own reality, from which it is very difficult to remove them. "

To combat the effects of misinformation, numerous verification platforms have been created in different countries. As explained by Joaquín Ortega, of Newtral, "What we do is to disprove both the disinformation that we see on the web, and the one that our users send us. Later, we contrasted it with various sources and published an article that explains why this information is false or misleading. "

The open questions of the audience addressed the role of journalists as main actors in the formation of public opinion. According to Pepa Romero: "It is very positive that all these processes are automated, but verification requires a lot of professionalism, that is, all this digital work has a great craftsmanship behind in the sense that people continue to have a lot of importance in these processes" . To these questions on the role of journalism, Ortega noted that "traditional media no longer have a monopoly on information, which for me is good because the journalist is more controlled by the reader when giving information "

The scope of disinformation is not limited to political and topical information, but reaches other areas relevant to society such as science. For Carlos Rul·lan "There is an awareness among the people that little by little this information is shared less, in addition to the tools to combat this are increasingly sophisticated." José Antonio Rubio said: "There are several studies that conclude that there are still many people who can not distinguish fake news from true, however, this can be improved by promoting education, teaching young and old the tools to make themselves can cope with this problem. "

As a closing to the event, Pepa Romero shared a quote from the President of the Philosophy Association, María José Guerra: "Faced with the irruption of post-truth, the philosophical disciplines are necessary: ​​the incisive questioning, the methodical doubt and prudent skepticism, which it goes from Socrates to Descartes and Hume".

You can watch the full video of the round table below or by visiting the event page in Foro de Foros.