More than 180 participants joined a UNESCO regional roundtable to discuss how access to information authorities in Latin America can respond to new challenges posed by disinformation, artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems.
To mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), UNESCO’s Regional Office in Montevideo organized the virtual roundtable “Information Integrity and Media and Information Literacy: New Challenges for Public Information Access Oversight Bodies”, bringing together more than 180 participants from across the region.
The discussion focused on a central question for the digital age: ensuring access to public information is not only about making information available, but also about ensuring that it is complete, understandable and verifiable.
Opening the event, Rosa González, UNESCO Regional Adviser for Communication and Information for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted how the transformation of the information ecosystem is creating both new opportunities and new challenges for the right of access to information.
Digital platforms, social media and artificial intelligence have dramatically expanded possibilities for accessing and producing information. At the same time, large-scale disinformation, algorithmic amplification and AI-generated content are raising important questions about the reliability of information and citizens’ ability to evaluate it.
In this context, information integrity and media and information literacy are increasingly important dimensions of the right to information. Media and information literacy goes beyond identifying false information. It means strengthening people’s ability to find and access information, critically assess its sources and context, understand how digital platforms and algorithms shape what they see, and make informed decisions about what they share.
From access to information to information integrity
The discussion brought together Catalina Botero, Director of the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression at Universidad de los Andes; Eduardo Bertoni, Director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University; María Jaraquemada, Councillor of Chile’s Council for Transparency; and Virginia Pardo, Director of Information Society at Uruguay’s Agency for Electronic Government and Information and Knowledge Society (AGESIC). The discussion was moderated by UNESCO regional consultant Marcos Mendiburu.
Drawing on jurisprudence and concrete experiences from across Latin America, participants examined how the traditional framework of access to public information is evolving to confront questions about the reliability and integrity of information provided by public authorities.
The discussion highlighted an important distinction: addressing information integrity should not mean establishing mechanisms through which public authorities decide what information or opinions are “true”. Rather, public institutions should be able to substantiate the information they provide, ensure its integrity and explain the evidence on which official statements and decisions are based.
Cases from Colombia, Mexico, Chile and the Inter-American human rights system illustrated how courts, access to information authorities and other oversight institutions are already addressing different dimensions of this challenge.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/access-reliable-information-digital-age?hub=701
