At TEDIC, we have been tirelessly working to address the growing phenomenon of misinformation in Paraguay. This year, we have reached an important milestone in our effort to raise awareness and educate the public about this issue, through our partnership with Tactical Tech, a Germany-based organization.
Joining forces for change
This collaboration allowed TEDIC to bring The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition to two high-traffic locations, which enabled us to expand our reach and extend our work to new audiences. This exhibition was crucial in exposing concerns about the challenge of states against big tech companies and strengthening our ongoing fight for a Personal Data Protection Law in Paraguay, an initiative promoted by TEDIC along with the Paraguay Personal Data Coalition and the Science and Technology Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
Adjusting to the local context
We began our project by adapting The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition to the local context, adding inputs from national cases that facilitate understanding of the scope of misinformation and how we can combat it. Initially, this involved modifying the exhibition language to ensure it conformed to the colloquial Spanish used in Paraguay, with all its particularities.
As part of this adaptation, we conducted thorough research on misinformation specific to Paraguay, focusing on how it is disseminated in electoral contexts. The research includes a theoretical analysis of misinformation and highlights specific cases in the country. These findings were included in a specific section of The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition, with highlighted cases affecting women and other vulnerable communities during the general elections in 2023 in the country.
Reaching different audiences
To reach different groups, we decided to present the exhibition in two high-traffic locations: The Central Library and Archive of the National Congress and “La Chispa Cultural”, an independent and iconic cultural space in the historic center of Asuncion, where artists, social collectives, and young people gather in the streets with artistic expressions and causes of public interest.
On the other hand, the exhibition in the Congress Library was strategic to boost our existing activities, as many of the misinformation issues in Paraguay are related to the lack of a robust personal data protection law in the country.
The opening of the exhibition took place on June 15th at 10 am at the Library and Archive of the National Congress where we presented the misinformation research and the launch of the exhibition, with the participation of key players such as ministry advisors, outgoing and elected legislators for the new legislative period in Paraguay, representatives of the Supreme Court of Justice, and civil society.
In addition, the exhibition was extended from June 15 to June 29, in continuous hours from 8 am to 1 pm, with free and open access. The research was sent, in printed format, to more than 20 government representatives and people who requested a copy of it.
The exhibition at “La Chispa” was a great success, that day we set up the misinformation exhibition in the streets of Asuncion, with the active participation of numerous people of all ages. Approximately 600 people were present at La Chispa and interacted in some way with the central content of the Misinformation Exhibition.
The communication was integrated into the official call of an annual event organized by the venue with national Reggae bands, which included the exhibition as an important component of the meeting.
Results and media repercussions
The success of the exhibition allowed us to conduct numerous press interviews that wanted to better understand the problem of misinformation and its intersection with data protection. We received extensive media coverage, with interviews on radio, print media, and television.
Among the media, public interest stands out with coverage from TV Cámara and Senado TV, channels of the National Congress as well as the country’s main media outlets.
This highlights the impact of our work and provides us with an excellent opportunity to present our stance and actions on misinformation, data protection, and online gender violence to public policy makers in Paraguay.
The exhibition also attracted particular attention from a young audience (17 to 24 years old) at La Chispa, who showed interest in continuing to participate in these types of activities.
Institutional partnerships
In addition to our successes with the exhibition and media interviews, we are very pleased to have achieved official partnerships with the Congress Library and La Chispa Cultural. These partnerships will allow us to replicate similar initiatives in the future and create new communities around the topic of misinformation and personal data in Paraguay.
Next steps
Our next steps include continuing to promote a new personal data protection law in Paraguay and taking advantage of the positive response from the electoral authority. We will also continue our valuable partnership with Tactical Tech to keep promoting activities like The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition, available in a virtual format.
We are very satisfied with the results of our project and are eager to continue our work in the fight for digital rights in Paraguay.
Let’s keep working together for a safer and more informed digital future!
Disinformation: challenges in the electoral context in Paraguay 
The return of the Pyrawebs law