On TV Brasil, the new president of the EBC defends the fight against fake news

The State and Brazilian society need to face the spread of false news, the so-called fake news, which are contributing to undermining democracies around the world. This is the opinion of the new president of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), Hélio Doyle, who took over the institution in February. When participating in the program Brasil em Pauta, on TV Brasil, Doyle points out that the fight against false news must be done with true news, with legal action and with the regulation of internet platforms. For this, according to him, a joint action of the whole society is necessary. “Fake news is harmful to society, it can lead to death. This has to be faced by the State, it has to be faced by society. It is not about censorship, it is not about limiting the right of expression, freedom of opinion”. Doyle points out that it is necessary to separate opinion from disinformation and that the regulation of platforms cannot be confused with censorship. For him, it is necessary to create a code of ethics that assigns responsibility to these companies. Regarding public communication, the new president of the EBC said that this is a little-known concept in Brazilian society and that there is still a lack of understanding of its role. “The EBC’s challenge is to proceed with the implementation of the public system in Brazil that can be complementary to the private system, provided for in the Constitution”. He says that the new board is working to restore the separation between public and state TV channels, which were unified in the previous government. The idea is also to have a state news agency, like the public agencies, which are Agência Brasil and Radioagência Nacional. In the case of the state channel, Doyle defends not only the transmission of pronouncements, but including the provision of services to the population. On the public channel, the reformulation of the programming intends to spread more the regional cultures of the whole country. The complete interview will air on the program Brasil em Pauta, at 22:30 this Sunday (26), on TV Brasil. Click here and find out how to tune in to the station.

Agência Brasil