Professor Peña took part in an event dedicated to the challenges posed by disinformation for digital governance and democracy in the region.
The activity was held virtually on May 13th, 2025 in the context of the National Television Council’s (CNTV) presidency of the Platform of Ibero-American Audiovisual Regulators (PRAI). It gathered experts from various Ibero-American countries, as well as representatives of international organizations such as UNESCO and Observacom, to discuss the role of audiovisual regulators regarding the increasing circulation of misleading content in digital environments.
Contributions from Academia
Patricia Peña, academic at the Faculty of Communication and Image (FCEI) of Universidad de Chile and co-researcher of the Fondecyt Project, addressed the risks of disinformation in sensitive areas such as public health, electoral processes and children. During her presentation, she emphasized the need for coordinated responses among various sectors, from regulators to educational, health and rights protection institutions.
From a critical perspective and based on her research on media literacy, Peña stressed that facing disinformation requires not only strengthening technical monitoring mechanisms but also enhancing citizen capabilities to identify and resist manipulative narratives. She explained that this is a democratic and cultural challenge, beyond the strictly communications scope.
On this occasion, the professor partook as a member of the I4T Global Knowledge Network, an initiative promoted by UNESCO that brings together regulation, media, digital governance and human rights specialists to support the implementation of the Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms. Researchers Chiara Sáez and Patricia Peña formally joined this network during the International Conference on Digital Platform Governance: Building a Global Forum of Networks, held in June 2024 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. realizada en junio de 2024 en Dubrovnik, Croacia.
Peña reflected on her participation in the assembly, where she was in the company of other professionals from the field of communications regulation, such as Brazil’s Communications Secretariat and the Communications Regulation Commission of Colombia: “I was able to share my experience in the Advisory Commission against Disinformation, where I was a member over a year ago, focusing on the two issued reports, which although addressed digital platforms, also presented a view of the media ecosystem, including the audiovisual sector.”
Regarding a regulatory institutionalism, she concluded that “this is important to understand in terms of its actions, scopes and collaborations to present media, information and digital literacy and education initiatives and programs for the audiovisual sector in Latin America”.
International Conference to Address Disinformation
The open conference “Audiovisual Regulators: Measures to Combat Disinformation” was organized by the CNTV as part of its work at the head of PRAI. It was moderated by the CNTV’s Director of Studies Elisabet Gerber, and it was divided into two thematic blocks: current regulatory experiences and future initiatives to fight disinformation.
Some of the prominent topics were the need for traceability in digital political advertising, the development of regulatory frameworks compatible with freedom of expression and the promotion of media literacy public policies from an early age. The meeting brought to light the urgency for cooperation among Ibero-American countries to deal with a transnational phenomenon that is threatening to erode public trust and democratic quality.
ENGLISH 
ESPANOL