For prosecutor, Telegram is still a focus of concern because of misinformation

Despite the changes negotiated since March, when STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered the blockade of Telegram throughout Brazil, the platform still raises concern about the lack of actions to combat disinformation, according to Yuri Luz, prosecutor and researcher. from Cebrap.

“Telegram is a platform that has a design conducive to circular disinformation. Until March, the rules were unclear about what was prohibited and what was not prohibited to do on the platform. Telegram also had an opaque policy on effectiveness application of the rules”, he observes.

In the sixth episode of the Eleções na Internet series, he also discusses the Communities tool, which WhatsApp gave up on launching in Brazil this year. In the testing phase abroad, the feature allows the union of several groups in a shared space, making it possible to send messages to thousands of people at the same time.

“It is risky to be launched in Brazil in a context of political violence, high polarization and with the credibility of the electoral process at risk”, says Luz. For him, the novelty is incoherent – ​​because WhatsApp has used the containment of viralization as a way to fight misinformation and the objective of Comunidades is precisely to expand the viralization model.

Presented by special reporter Patrícia Campos Mello, the series Eleções na Internet is published weekly, on Tuesdays, with the participation of Carlos Affonso Souza, director of the ITS (Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade).

The project is a partnership of Sheet with the ITS (Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade) with support from YouTube. Episodes are also available on major podcast players.