On May 23, 2025, the research group Rede de Estudos sobre Democracia e Desinformação (REDD), in partnership with the IEAT Darcy Ribeiro Chair: Sovereignty, Education and Politics, will welcome political scientist and UFMG professor Leonardo Avritzer and researcher and journalist Eliara Santana to participate in a meeting of the 1st International REDD Conference.

The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Baesse auditorium, located on the fourth floor of the UFMG School of Philosophy and Human Sciences, on the Pampulha campus. Admission is free.

The objective is to discuss the emergence of disinformation as a structuring element of democratic crises in Brazil and around the world. Given a scenario in which the circulation of false or manipulated content affects public opinion, electoral processes and the functioning of institutions, the event proposes a reflection on the current challenges of democratic systems and the crises generated by new digital dynamics.

During the meeting, the guests will discuss the topic of disinformation and the contemporary challenges to democracy, based on the reflections developed in their most recent publications. The books Eleições 2022 e a construção da democracia no Brasil [Elections 2022 and the Reconstruction of Democracy in Brazil], organized by Leonardo Avritzer, Eliara Santana and Rachel Bragatto and published by Editora Autêntica (2023), and Democracy under Attack, by Marisa von Bülow, Leonardo Avritzer and Eliara Santana, published by Editora Springer (2024) are highlighted. The first book analyzes the Brazilian political scenario after the presidential elections and the second provides a broader view of the problem, examining threats to democratic institutions on a global scale. Both works address the role of disinformation in the current democratic crisis and offer diagnoses to understand and address the phenomenon.

About the guests

Leonardo Avritzer is a full professor in the Department of Political Science at UFMG, a CNPq researcher and one of the leading figures in Brazilian political science. He holds a PhD from the New School for Social Research at the University of New York, and a postdoctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He coordinated the Election Observatory and presided over the Brazilian Association of Political Science. He is the author of widely recognized books on democracy and political institutions in Brazil.

Eliara Santana is a journalist, social scientist and holds a PhD in Linguistics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-MG), with postdoctorates from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and UFMG. She works as a researcher at INCT/Election Observatory and the Research Group on Media and Public Opinion in International Relations (MOPRI) at the State University of Paraíba (UEPB), focusing on disinformation, media and elections. She is co-organizer of the book Elections 2022 and the reconstruction of democracy in Brazil and a columnist for outlets such as Carta Capital, Viomundo and Jornal GGN.