FDD Logo (Fundo de Defesa de Direitos Difusos)
During 2023, the Internet and Social Network Studies Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (NetLab UFRJ) was among the projects which received funding from the FDD (Federal fund for Diffuse Rights) and Senacon. According to the article on the digital platform GOV.br, the FDD reached almost 100% of the budget allocation for social projects and combating disinformation.
Debunking Misinformation
The NetLab UFRJ project focuses on conceptualizing, mapping and collecting scientific evidence on campaigns involving "influence operations", and which use disinformation techniques, deception, fraud, and manipulate Brazilian consumers online.
The director of Projects and Policies for Collective and Diffuse Rights (DPPDD) at Senacon, Ministry of Justice, Tomaz Miranda, emphasized the importance of financing new projects to repair damage to diffuse rights, highlighting, for example, the crucial approach in the fight against misinformation.
“We are financing the structure for mapping and collecting scientific evidence on disinformation and influence campaigns on social networks for fraud and the online manipulation of Brazilian consumers” said Miranda, referring to NetLab, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).