Almost half of Brazilian municipalities do not have local journalistic media, leaving 26.7 million people without news about their cities. A special report by Agência Mural shows how in Pirapora do Bom Jesus, a lack of news coverage mainly affects the periphery, making access to information difficult and increasing socioeconomic inequality.
In Venezuela, digital information freedoms are systematically censored and attacked, according to “Algorithms of Silence,” the 2023 Digital Rights Annual Report from IPYS Venezuela. During the past year, 46 informative sites were blocked and 12 media outlets and four journalists suffered from identity impersonation.
As violence is growing in the country and against the press, in particular, Ecuador has a legally established protection mechanism that does not have resources to be fully functional. The government's recent announcement not to approve resources for this year and the next raised even more alarms about how to improve press security in the country.
After presenting VerificAudio, an AI tool to detect manipulated audio material and combat disinformation, the PRISA media group will begin using it in its news stations in Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Chile. It’s also considering collaboration with other media that are interested in the tool.