Brazil fights online misinformation during election season

Human stories from a world in conflict. No Images? [Click here]( Oct. 5, 2018 The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is largely invisible, some 300 miles zigzagging through fields, streams, towns and even houses. Most of the 300 crossings don't even acknowledge that you have crossed countries, save for some differences in the signs — miles in the north and kilometers in the Irish Republic. It’s a far cry from the Troubles — the three-decade period when rival unionist and republican paramilitaries warred over the political status of Northern Ireland — that saw the frontier strung with British Army checkpoints and watchtowers. [With only six months until Britain is due to leave the European Union, the country is yet to finalize an agreement on the terms of its departure.]( One of the main sticking points is the British government’s failure to present the EU with a realistic proposal of how to keep the Irish border open. If no deal is reached, Britain would leave without any trade, regulatory and customs agreements with Europe and risk potential disruption at ports and borders. ### A US Navy destroyer and a Chinese warship passed just 45 yards from each other in the South China Sea. That is dangerously close. It’s just the sort of incident that military strategists might use in a war planning scenario to explain how one thing can lead to another, and two world powers could find themselves in a serious — even potentially nuclear — confrontation. [It's not quite a doomsday scenario, but it might keep happening.]( And it's certainly worth keeping an eye on. ### With the first round of Brazil's presidential elections slated for Sunday, misinformation on social media networks has become rampant. Now Brazil’s elections have become a laboratory for big tech companies slowly taking responsibility for misinformation campaigns on their platforms. False information can spread on social media like wildfire in the country, where 66 percent of voters have WhatsApp accounts and 58 percent have Facebook accounts. In the past year alone, viral misinformation on Brazilian social media has included an anti-vaccination hoax about yellow fever, false instructions on when to vote and false claims that Brazilian authorities gave a Venezuelan company information that would allow it to defraud the election. [How the electorate responds to suspicious news accounts and viral memes could influence the outcome of the elections.]( ### The elections in Brazil have repercussions beyond the South American country's borders, too. Portugal has seen a number of protests against far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro. And while there have long been groups of Brazilian activists in Portugal, it was the nationwide protests that swept Brazil in 2013, ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, that electrified — and politicized — Portugal’s Brazilian community, activists here say. That wave of demonstrations, the biggest in Brazil in a generation, also brought Brazilians living in Portugal onto the streets of Lisbon to protest against corruption, high prices and poor public services back home. [Now, with Bolsonaro leading the polls ahead of the first round of Brazil’s two-round presidential race on Sunday, many Brazilians in Lisbon are moving political discourse from their living rooms to the streets.]( [Brexit uncertainties cause Irish border communities to fear the worst]( Political and economic uncertainty over Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is making people on the Irish border fear for the island’s fragile peace [Learn more >]( [US and Chinese warships came perilously close to collision, and it’s probably going to keep happening]( There’s a high stakes game of chicken going on in the South China Sea, and neither the US nor China is showing any sign of backing down. [Learn more >]( [Brazil fights online misinformation during election season]( This election, the work of fact-checking organizations is being amplified by a new partner: Facebook. It is part of the social media giant’s push to assure users it is taking misinformation campaigns in elections seriously. In September, Facebook announced it was dedicating its own “War Room” in Menlo Park to preventing election interference in Brazil — one of its five biggest markets. [Learn more >]( [With presidential elections looming, Brazilian migrants in Portugal ramp up political activism amid chaotic scenario back home]( As political chaos grows across the Atlantic, Brazilian migrants in Portugal are mobilizing in protest. Brazilians represent the largest community of foreign residents in this 10 million-strong country, with more than 85,000 Brazilians registered with Portugal’s Immigration and Borders Service. Now they're taking to the streets. [Learn more >]( Bloomberg Buisinessweek [The big hack: How China used a tiny chip to infiltrate US companies]( The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 US companies, including Amazon and Apple, by compromising America’s technology supply chain, according to extensive interviews with government and corporate sources. The Intercept [I just visited Lula, the world’s most prominent political prisoner. A ‘soft coup’ in Brazil’s election will have global consequences.]( As the fifth most populous country, what happens in Brazil matters. The current election reflects dynamics that are globally relevant and historically familiar. Longreads [The targeting and killing of a Helmandi combatant]( A reporter interviewed everyone present in the tactical operations center during a routine airstrike in Helmand Province. Without exception they believe themselves to be doing the right thing. Foreign Policy [The new cold front in Russia’s information war]( As NATO’s footprint grows in Norway, Moscow may be using an espionage case to inflame the country’s internal divisions. Public Radio International (PRI) is a global nonprofit media company focused on the intersection of journalism and engagement to effect positive change in people’s lives. We create a more informed, empathetic and connected world by sharing powerful stories, encouraging exploration, connecting people and cultures, and creating opportunities to help people take informed action on stories that inspire them. Its mission is to serve audiences as a distinctive content source for information, insights and cultural experiences essential to living in our diverse, interconnected world. [Support PRI]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( PRI Public Radio International Hear a Different Voice [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](