Conceived in February 2021 as an applied research, technological innovation and communication impact project, Democracia em Xeque becomes, in December 2023, a nationwide Institute, with the mission of expanding the production of knowledge to combat disinformation campaigns , hate speech and violent political extremism.
Over the past three years, Democracia em Xeque has actively collaborated in a non-partisan and independent manner, with the efforts undertaken by the press, the judicial power, and organized civil society. This collaboration aims to safeguard the integrity of the electoral system, uphold the rules of the game, and ensure the legitimacy of election results.
Aiming to strengthen Democracy, as an independent research institute, our efforts focus on promoting information integrity through the continuous monitoring of digital political discourse, and campaigns against disinformation and human rights violations, to build a truly inclusive and democratic digital environment.
Given these enormous challenges, the creation of the Instituto Democracia em Xeque represents an important step in strengthening the hub of university researchers that are part of the project, enabling the establishment of even more robust academic and institutional partnerships at both national and international levels.
The establishment of the Institute and the formation of partnerships with various actors will strengthen the capacity to develop solutions to identify and mitigate the negative effects of what we call the “Denialist Tripod,” characterized by the coordinated and large-scale dissemination of disinformation focused on three fundamental problems:
• democratic/electoral;
• climate/environmental;
• health/vaccination.
Our research to diagnose actions on digital platforms and individuals' perception of harmful narratives is based on a triangular methodology, which involves (i) data mining, (ii) analysis of metrics, (iii) narratives and contexts, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research. In other words, it is an integrated tool that allows us to go from data mining to guiding communication actions aimed at strengthening the integrity of information.
1. Promote the active defense of Democracy by confronting disinformation, anti-democratic radicalization, hate speech, and violent political extremism.
2. Develop and support initiatives to defend the integrity of information in the democratic, environmental, and health spheres.
3. Promote awareness initiatives about good practices for building an inclusive and democratic digital environment.
4. Promote impactful communication actions and rapid response campaigns to combat the “Denialist Tripod”.
5. Encourage and participate in the coordinated action of activists to combat disinformation, anti-democratic radicalization, hate speech, and violent political extremism.
1. Ensure the integrity of information by identifying disinformation ecosystems on digital platforms that undermine Democracy. This involves continuously conducting research, studies, and analyses of disinformation campaigns that attack democracy and promote disinformation on vital topics such as the climate emergency and vaccination coverage.
2. Equip actors from civil society and public institutions to better respond to disinformation campaigns on digital platforms. This involves promoting training initiatives focused on media education and digital literacy through events, courses, seminars, and conferences.
3. Develop research methodologies and technological resources to combat disinformation on digital platforms, aiming to stimulate the development and implementation of technologies, software, and applications.
4. Strengthen impactful communication and citizen mobilization actions aimed at combating misinformation.
5. Make continuous efforts in institutional coordination with state branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary) at different levels of the federation, along with civil society organizations, multilateral organizations, international organizations, opinion makers, and decision-makers to promote the agenda of combating misinformation and defending democracy, protecting the environment, increasing vaccination coverage, and supporting human rights.
6. Strengthen the ecosystem of civil society organizations to better tackle problems related to disinformation by sharing intelligence data and actively participating in spaces for articulating and unifying common agendas. This also includes advancing the regulatory agenda within the scope of digital policies.
7. Promote legal actions and/or participate as amicus curiae in actions of interest based on the statutory purposes of the Instituto Democracia em Xeque (IDX).
