Lies on social media: NetLab UFRJ Director explains how disinformation became a business
- Sep 6, 2025
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Photo: Trip TV
This Friday (09/06), Marie Santini, Director of the Laboratory for Internet and Social Media Studies at UFRJ (NetLab UFRJ), was a guest on the episode “A specialist in lies takes on big tech” on the Trip FM program, broadcast by Rádio Eldorado.
During the interview, Santini spoke about the profound impacts of the internet on all dimensions of modern life, from work to personal relationships, and how it also amplifies negative aspects of society.
“Technologies are extensions of human beings. [...] But the internet dominates all spheres of life. This also means that the perverse side of human beings gains power, and that is what we see today on social media,” the researcher explained.
Santini also drew attention to the strategies used by large technology companies to avoid regulation. “Big techs use a narrative similar to that of the cigarette industry. Just as there was once an attempt to sow doubt about the harm done by smoking, today they say any rules for platforms means censorship. It is a strategy to avoid being regulated and to keep profiting”, she explains.
The full interview is available on Trip TV’s YouTube channel, which broadcasts podcast episodes on Rádio Eldorado every Friday at 8 p.m.
