Paraguay and Meta sign MoU to jointly combat election fake news — MercoPress

Paraguay and Meta sign MoU to jointly combat election fake news

Paraguayan congress discusses fake news and misuse of AI during election campaign

The Paraguayan Electoral Justice Organization reached an understanding this week with the social media giant Meta to tackle campaign misinformation. The company owns platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The agreement was reached during a meeting in Asuncion on August 20-21 during the 17th Conference of Electoral Authorities of the Americas 2024.

At the congress, Paraguayan Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSJE) Chief Justice César Rossel spoke out about the harms posed by fake news and artificial intelligence in dirty campaigning, prompting a response from the authorities.

Therefore, the main goal of TSJE is to promote the signing of agreements on these issues. In this regard, TSJE is developing a series of strategies with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MITIC) to develop electronic signatures and personal identities for future citizen initiatives, Rossel explained.

At the signing ceremony with Meta, TSJE judge Jorge Bogarín González accompanied Rosell, and company representatives included Íñigo Fernández, director of public policy for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and Javier Azis, manager of public policy for Spanish-speaking South America.

TSJE also said in a statement: “The purpose of this meeting is to establish a strategic alliance to reduce false information in the electoral process, which is one of the main topics discussed during the 2024 RAE.”

The 2024 Conference of Electoral Authorities of the Americas was attended by 27 countries, 35 electoral institutions and 53 dignitaries, who reviewed their experiences and challenges. The conference included panel discussions such as “Artificial Intelligence at the Polling Station – Shaping the Future of Democracy and Electoral Integrity”, “Democracy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence – Electoral Integrity” or “Promoting a Secure and Consultative Information Ecosystem in the Electoral Process”. Participants also analyzed multilateral efforts to preserve democracy, the health of democratic systems and institutions, and the promotion of a secure information ecosystem in the electoral field.

The event was organized by the Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and TSJE with support from the Government of Canada.