Jean Wyllys spoke on “Manipulate my fear: How new forms of (mis)information and processes of political subjection contribute to the erosion of democracy in Brazil” to an appreciative audience at MIT December 6.
Combining the long experience (eight years) as a victim of fake news and hate speech due to sexual orientation, including communication strategies and policies thought of as antidotes during this experiment, Wyllys analyzed ways in which fake news and hate speech articulate with each other and impact voter subjectivities in political and decision-making processes.
Jean Wyllys is a lecturer, journalist, politician, and gay-rights activist from Brazil, and. former member of the Brazilian parliament. He is a Harvard ALARI Scholar at Risk Fall 2019. The event was sponsored by Global Languages, MIT Political Science, MISTI Brazil, MISTI Portugal, and the Latin American Working Group .
Left to right: Rosabelly Coelho Keyssar (MIT-Brazil manager), Nilma Dominique (Lecturer, Portuguese), Jean Wyllys, Emilia Simison (Political Science grad student), Joaquín Terrones (Lecturer, Literature).