On November 18, the Embassy partnered with the U.S. government exchange program alumni association VIA-Círculo Jefferson (VIA) to conduct a training and roundtable discussion on countering disinformation hosted by the Universitas Senioribus CEU in Madrid. Chargé d’Affaires Conrad Tribble, Miguel Oyarzábal of VIA, and María García-Carrillo, the director of Universitas Senioribus CEU, gave remarks on the importance of all members and age ranges within society arming themselves with the necessary analytical tools to identify and reduce the spread of disinformation through new technologies. Roger Cuartielles, a disinformation expert from Learn to Check and a professor in communications at the University of Barcelona, conducted a workshop on how to analyze online information and check sources for the 75 individuals attending in person and the 93 people viewing online. This was followed by a roundtable discussion on the nexus between disinformation and politics, moderated by journalist David Alandete, ABC’s Washingtoncorrespondent. The other panelists included Paloma Baena, Director of Next Generation EU at Llorente y Cuenca Consultores; Carlos Hernández-Echevarría of Maldita.es; Juan Luis Manfredi, Prince of Asturias Chair at Georgetown University; and Pedro Rodríguez, Professor of International Relations at Comillas Pontifical University. The recording of the event is available here. This was the first of five conferences designed to counter disinformation. Each conference is organized by VIA with the sponsorship of the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund-AEIF of the Department of State, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona, and five senior universities (members of the Association of University Programs for Older Adults) throughout Spain. The second conference in this series will take place in Valencia on February 16, 2022, and will focus on the topic of “Disinformation and Science.”
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