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Research & Programming

Technology & Disinformation

About In the News Past Events Project Members

Overview

This study works to challenge and deconstruct long-standing stereotypes about favelas—often portrayed as hubs of disinformation due to a supposed lack of education.

Findings reveal that such assumptions are unfounded. In fact, engagement with disinformation among favela residents—who are predominantly Black—is significantly lower than among individuals from higher social classes.

This study is part of a broader initiative working collaboratively with residents to establish a local research lab, enabling them to conduct their own investigations and generate knowledge from within their communities.

The report Technology and Disinformation in the Território do Bem (Vitória-ES), published as a bilingual booklet (Portuguese and English) by Editora Milfontes, is available for download at the link below. This is the first report of its kind focused on understanding how favela residents engage with technology and disinformation, and how these interactions shape their everyday lives. The project centers on exploring the role of technology and disinformation in the daily experiences of the Território do Bem, emphasizing participatory research and community engagement as key drivers of social transformation.

View Favela Digital

Explore Publications on Favela Digital

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In the News

Overhead image of a boy with dark hair sitting on the ground looking at his smartphone

In the favelas, online gambling sells survival and delivers precarious living conditions

David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, argues that betting functions as a parallel financial infrastructure, mediated by platforms, sign-up bonuses, influencers, and promises of quick profits, presenting itself as an opportunity which is where its power lies.

www1.folha.uol.com.br

TV news set with David Nemer on screen behind female news anchor

The conviction of Meta and Google in a case involving a young person in the US sets a precedent for new lawsuits, says anthropologist

David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, discussed the new Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents (ECA Digital), a landmark piece of legislation that places Brazil back at the vanguard of global internet regulation. Instead of banning social media for children and teenagers, Brazil chose protection and safeguards.

cbn.globo.com

Computer generated image of a woman's face on one side that disintegrates into pixels on the other side

How will chatbots and AI-generated content influence the 2026 elections?

David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, contributed to a new report by the newspaper O Globo about the influence of Chatbots and AI-generated content in the 2026 elections.

oglobo.globo.com

Past Events

  • Technology & Disinformation

Digital Democracy: The Uses and Misuses of Technology in Unequal Societies

Monday, December 9, 2024 • 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT

DTD Lab, 722 Preston Ave., Ste. 201

  • Technology & Disinformation
  • Visual Misinformation

Misinformation and Image Manipulation in a Polarized America

Friday, November 22, 2024 • 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM EDT

UVA's School of Data Science and Online

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Project Members

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Diego DiMattina

Diego DiMattina is an undergraduate student and Echols scholar at the University of Virginia, majoring in computer science and philosophy. He works as a research assistant in the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab alongside faculty co-lead, David Nemer, and postdoctoral research fellow, André Sobral. Diego is interested in science and technology studies, political/social philosophy and computer science techniques that incorporates both interests. He has worked with the Massive Data Institute at Georgetown University studying misinformation during the 2024 election and interned at organizations implementing technologies to drive policy efforts. Diego is committed to leveraging an interdisciplinary approach to better understand how to use technology ethically in society.

Full Profile

Faculty Co-Lead

David Nemer

Affiliation

  • Associate Professor of Media Studies, Department of Media Studies, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

Bio

David Nemer is an associate professor in the department of media studies, and an affiliated faculty in the department of anthropology and in the Latin American studies program at the University of Virginia. He is also a faculty associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. His research and teaching interests cover the intersection of science and technology studies, anthropology of technology, ICT for development, and human-computer interaction. Nemer is an ethnographer whose fieldworks include the Slums of Vitória, Brazil; Havana, Cuba; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Eastern Kentucky, Appalachia. Nemer is the author of Technology of the Oppressed (MIT Press, 2022), winner of the Marcel Roche Award, and Favela Digital: The other side of technology (Editora GSA, 2013). He holds an MA in anthropology from the University of Virginia, an MS in computer science from Saarland University, and a PhD in computing, culture, and society from Indiana University. Nemer has written for The Guardian, El País, The Huffington Post (HuffPost), Salon, The Intercept, UOL, and CartaCapital.

Full Profile

2024-26 Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Andre Sobral

Andre Sobral, a postdoctoral research fellow with UVA's Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, is a sociologist specialized in science and technology studies. Motivated by a passion for comprehending social change, Sobral has studied interpersonal relationships and political activism mediated by social networks. His enthusiasm lies in collaborative work within creative teams, where collective thinking and academic knowledge are applied to address real-world challenges. Sobral earned a bachelor of sociology at the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador, Brazil, and a master's degree and PhD of systems engineering and computer science at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Previously, he was a researcher at the international project on community resilience “Understanding Risks & Building Enhanced Capabilities in Latin American Cities." Sobral also collaborated as a voluntary researcher at the Informatics & Society Laboratory and at the Aaron Swartz Brazil Institute.

Full Profile

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