Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.

How to tell stories of the future? The experience of #EscolaInternetLab2017

News Information & Politics 05.01.2017 by Beatriz Kira

After two weeks of hard work, the first edition of the InternetLab School “Telling the stories of the future: journalism and internet policies came to an end. From day one, journalists from Brazil and other Latin American countries participated in workshops, debates and seminars, with specialists from different areas. In spite of the different languages and accents, the linguistic barrier was easily overcome, which generated high-level discussions and interventions.

The School was structured around three thematic axes: (1) understanding the struggles (Internet, politics, stories, trends); (2) telling stories (databases, leakings, fact-checking); and (3) considering the consequences (Big data, bubble effect, engaging readers, security). See below a report on how these axes were approached during the School’s activities.

International guests

In a day dedicated to the discussion of global issues, our invited international journalists talked with the School’s participants about the research and writing processes of their articles. Jordanian journalist Reem Al Masri, of the online magazine 7iber spoke about the difficulties of journalistic coverage in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Jeff Larson, ProPublica journalist and a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist talked about his experience with investigative journalism. He especially approached the big data and algorithm area, focusing on the writing of the award-winning article “Machine bias”, which identified racism problems in the use of a software for preventing crimes in the US. The coverage of cybersecurity topics was approached by Kim Zetter, an award-winning journalist who worked for Wired magazine. She talked about her two articles on the topic: one about the security of electronic voting machines, and another about the digital weapon Stuxnet — allegedly developed by the US and Israel with the aim of sabotaging the Iranian nuclear program.

The School’s schedule included the open seminar “Telling the stories of the future: dialogues on journalism and technology”, organized in partnership with the Cásper Líbero College, where our international guests could also talk with journalism students and other people who were interested in the debate. The motto of the first panel was “New stories, old conflicts? Security, surveillance and its coverage”, with the participation of Kim Zetter, Reem Al Masri, Francisco Brito Cruz, InternetLab director, and Claudia Bredarioli, Cásper Líbero professor. In this panel, topics like journalistic coverage in conflict zones, cybersecurity, liability of intermediate parties and its relation to freedom of speech on the web.

In the second panel, the theme was “A future mediated by technology: algorithm and their challenges”, with  Jeff Larson, Mariana Valente, InternetLab director, and Leandro Beguoci, director of the Nova Escola magazine. The discussions in this panel ranged from the risks and uncertainties brought by the processing of data by companies and the State, race and gender discriminations generated from algorithms, to juridical strategies for combatting revenge porn in Brazil — a research topic studied by InternetLab in the book “The Body is the Code” [in Portuguese].

 

Thematic workshops

To deepen the debate on themes related to the field of Internet policies, we held thematic workshops, coordinated by InternetLab’s team and invited specialists. One of the topics was how to cover cybernetic surveillance and personal data protection. Dennys Antonialli, InternetLab director, highlighted that the processing of personal data is at the base of tech companies’ business models and pointed that the collection of this data is not always consented — many companies create huge databanks on their users, from which they work on their directed ads. Jacqueline Abreu, InternetLab research coordinator, punctuated that the development of new technologies increases the surveillance power of the States and that it is important to pay attention to the available legal grounds when assessing whether this surveillance is abusive or not. Both indicated possible stories that could be told from these perspectives — from the examples of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics surveillance balloons to the examples of unexpected conclusions that some companies take from the databanks they create.

Beatriz Kira, policy watch coordinator at InternetLab, shared some results from the research line “Sharing economy and its regulatory challenges”, reporting on the compared analysis of Uber’s regulamentation in megacities around the world, and the historical research on individual transportation of passengers in the city of São Paulo — made from archives of old newspapers. The liability of intermediate parties and its relation to freedom of speech on the web was the topic of the workshop coordinated by Francisco Brito Cruz. Mariana Valente dealt with the changes that the Internet and technology brought for the world of copyright. Net neutrality and its regulamentation in Brazil was the topic of Ademir Pereira Junior’s workshop, a lawyer and researcher of the field.

Natália Neris and Thiago Oliva, InternetLab research coordinators, reflected on how to approach online gender violence and what precautions a journalist should have when covering a hate manifestation. In a day specifically devoted to discussing inequality issues, the School’s participants debated topics related to the access of Information and Communication Technologies, beyond the inequalities of accessing the job market in the areas of technology and Internet.

 

From journalists to journalists

Issues related to identity markers and inequalities were also approached in the workshop “A transversal look to the inequalities of class, race, gender and other social markers in journalism”, coordinated by the journalist and researcher Bianca Santana. From a theoretical perspective, the workshop proposed that intersectionality should be something all stories and not only some.

The School also debated some journalism methods and strategies. Thiago Mali’s workshop, from Abraji (Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism), discussed data journalism techniques. Daniel O’Maley, associate editor at the Center for International Media Assistance, spoke about the difficulties in covering Internet governance. With Alexandre Matias, of Trabalho Sujo and ex-editor of Link (the technology section of the “O Estado de S. Paulo” newspaper), the journalists debated strategies for covering technology in the media and how to identify conflicts, and with Angela Pimenta, editor of the informative Bites, they talked about how to discover what is in the backstages of power and about the elaboration of Internet policies. Angela also talked about the Credibility Project, an initiative that aims to create tools to identify and certify trustable contents on the Internet, with the goal to fight fake news.

 

Rumors and bubbles

The topic of content reliability on the Internet had a particular attention during the School. Cristina Tardáguila, of Agência Lupa, presented the fact-checking methodology, which has been used in various parts of the world, and the challenges of checking information in Brazil. Fact-checking is one of the forms proposed to face the sharing of fake news on the web — a problem that has been drawing more attention in the public debate. This subject was also approached by Pablo Ortellado, GPoPAI coordinator, who discussed with the journalists the learnings brought by the project “Political debate in the digital environment monitor”, such as dissemination of untrue content, bubble-effect on the social networks and polarization in the virtual ambient.

 

Latin American dialogues

In the School’s last day, we received representatives from acting entities in the area of Internet policies in Latin America (Derechos Digitales, Coding Rights, Fundación Karisma, TEDIC, e IDEC), to discuss with the participants the main challenges and perspectives for the field in the region. In particular, we dealt with freedom of speech and information (its importance and the limit cases, such as the right to be forgotten), and issues related to privacy and surveillance, copyright in the digital environment and gender issues on the Internet. After rounds in which the most relevant topics in each represented country were discussed, the journalists got together in small groups with the Latin American guests to think about relevant stories that could be elaborated from the topics discussed.

 

Registers from the #InternetLabSchool2017

More details from the daily happenings of the #InternetLabSchool2017 were reported on our social networks during the days. We gathered photos of the activities and statements from some of the participants below.

Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
#EscolaInternetLab2017. Photo: Meg Kang.

Gif with photos and declarations of InternetLab School 2017 participants. Maximiliano Manzoni: "Creo que ese ha sido el mayor legado de estas dos semanas: empezar a entender internet con un rostro humano, con su potencial y con sus desafíos. Porque sólo desde la empatía podremos empezar contar las historias del futuro". Maria Cecilia Toledo: "En portuñol selvagem: los que eu más gosto de la #EscolaInternetLab2017 foi la perspectiva en derechos humanos sobre Internet y la posibilidad de ver cómo las cuestiones de género atraviesan toda la region. Eu llevo para Argentina nuevos conceptos sobre feminismo negro, derecho al olvido y muitas herramientas para experimentar na web. Obrigada InternetLab!". Gracielly Bittencourt: "A qualidade dos debates e a possibilidade de integração entre jornalistas de toda a América Latina tornaram a Escola InternetLab um ambiente incrível de troca de informações e experiências para construção de um jornalismo melhor e mais engajado". Susana Morán: "InternetLab es para mi un espacio indispensable para las discusiones e investigación sobre internet". Ricardo Torres: "Acredito que toda a dedicação, infraestrutura e logística disponibilizadas contribuíram para o sucesso desta primeira edição e formataram o início de um processo contínuo que envolve novas ações norteadas pelo InternetLab e a rede de jornalistas que participou da escola". Gif with photos and declarations of InternetLab School 2017 participants. Gelsys Maria: "La escuela ha servido, desde mi punto de vista, para reflexionar sobre cómo contar las historias tecnológicas que ya no son de un futuro incierto y lejano, sino de un presente apabullante". Nelfi Fernández Reyes: "Otra mirada del periodismo hacia las tecnologías, especialmente el internet, es lo que me ha dado la escuela de InternetLab. Pero eso no es todo: me ha mostrado el camino para humanizar los datos y me ha abierto las puertas a una comunidad de profesionales que ya trabajan en historias de un futuro muy presente, cuyos retos y compromisos ahora hago míos". Perla Toro: "De la Escuela me llevo inquietudes y reflexiones para seguir delineando mi labor periodística, para tejer el mapa de una Colombia que hoy más que nunca precisa de preguntas para reconstruirse; ahora enmarcada en un escenario donde la tecnología e internet superaron las calificaciones de futuro para instalarse en el presente". Jéssica Botelho: "Para além de uma iniciativa que contribui consideravelmente para o fazer jornalístico atual, a Escola conectou 20 profissionais da América Latina e possibilitou uma troca de experiências muito produtiva e enriquecedora que nos motivou a articular projetos para parcerias futuras". Claudia Ocaranza: "Para mí en particular, la escuela me dio la oportunidad de refrendar conocimiento y adquirir nuevas ideas; además de conocer lo que se está haciendo en la región sobre periodismo de datos y de investigación para unir lazos y encontrar posibles colaboraciones". Gif with photos and declarations of InternetLab School 2017 participants. Munise Vargas: "A Escola InternetLab 2017 me reconectou aos princípios básicos do jornalismo e relembrou a importância da nossa profissão na sociedade. Também abriu novos caminhos para contar histórias do futuro: por meio de estradas conectadas em redes, mas lembrando sempre que o destino final deve estar focado nas pessoas". Gizele Martins: "Tive a oportunidade de estudar, ouvir e aprender com profissionais incríveis que trouxeram experiências necessárias para melhorarmos o nosso jornalismo. Tenham a certeza que vou compartilhar o que aprendi pelas favelas que caminho com as produções de cursos e oficinas de comunicação". Imanol Subiela: "La Escuela me abrió un abanico de ideas sobre cómo trabajar en, para y sobre internet. Me ayudó a comprender que los conflictos que se dan en el terreno virtual son parte del mundo real. Y finalmente, lo más importante, que la clave para poder avanzar sobre estos temas está en el trabajo en grupo, en comunidad, en establecer relaciones transaccionales que puedan desandar los conflictos (muchas veces similares) que tienen los países latinoamericanos". Glenda Girón: "La labor del periodismo informado y responsable es la de iluminar las desigualdades. Todos tenemos derecho a un acceso transparente a esas formas en las que la tecnología afecta vidas para bien y para mal. Me voy, también, feliz y sorprendida por la forma en la que este grupo del que tuve el honor de ser parte supo imponerse a las barreras lingüísticas. Muito obrigada".

Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Privacy and surveillance” with Dennys Antonialli and Jacqueline Abreu. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Violence and prejudice in the Internet”, with Natália Neris. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop on “Net neutrality”, with Ademir Pereira Junior. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
International Workshop on Cybersecurity, with Kim Zetter. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
International Workshop on algorithms and big data, with Jeff Larson. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
International Workshop on algorithms and big data, with Jeff Larson. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
International Workshop on news coverage on the Middle East and North Africa with Reem Mohd Nael Almasri, from the online magazine 7iber. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
International Workshop on algorithms and big data, with Jeff Larson. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Covering Internet policies: how to discover what is happening in the backstages of power?” with Angela Pimenta. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Methodologies for covering inequalities”, with Bianca Santana. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Dinner-talk about fact-checking, with Cristina Tardáguila, from Agência Lupa. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Methodologies for covering inequalities”, with Bianca Santana. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Methodologies for covering inequalities”, with Bianca Santana. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Dinner-talk with Demi Getschko in a living-room with old furniture, where everybody is sitted.
Dinner-talk with Demi Getschko. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Inequalities in technology: Internet access and access to the job market”, with Tatiana Jereissati, from NIC.Br, Natália Neris and Sil Bahia, from PretaLab. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Representatives of Derechos Digitales, TEDIC, Coding Rights and Karisma, partner institutios in Latin America, debate the challenges and perspectives for the region. Photo: Jacqueline Abreu,
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Workshop “Group Dynamics”, with Rodrigo Savazoni. Photo: Mariana Valente.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
Photo of InternetLab School 2017 participants at the InternetLab office.
Participants discuss the challenges and perspectives of internet policies in Latin America. Photo: Beatriz Kira.
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