“There can be no progress without peace and human rights.”

Despite the difficulty in understanding his words in Russian, the presentation, automatically translated by artificial intelligence of questionable accuracy, did not leave the audience in the Mar de Vigo auditorium and conference center indifferent.

Packing a briefcase filled with photos and documents he relied on during his presentation, the journalist focused his speech on warning about the growing threat of misinformation and propaganda being protected by the technological revolution. Unable to tell whether the sender of a message is a human or a robot (Also known as “bots,” referring to social media accounts that mass-replicate messages in order to generate false public opinion).

In this sense, he called on society as a whole to fight against fascism, whose “ideology remains alive” despite the 80 years separating the present from World War II. A rise reflected in the success of populist and totalitarian leaders around the world, “Friends, this is not the end of the story that Fukuyama dreamed of – quoting the famous book by the American author.” rather the end of civilization».

And in the face of this wave of misinformation, A new form of totalitarianism Those who do not hesitate to use new weapons made available by advances in technology focused on “antidotes” that could help them recognize the manipulation behind political speeches. In addition to seeking truth in popular texts, writers and journalists appreciated the new face of content verifiers. “Without control of verifiers and ‘bots,’ nothing can be done,” he warned.

censorship and manipulation

To ground his observations, Muratov provided several examples of how censorship, manipulation, and persecution of dissidents work in his home country. The conflict also directly affected President Putin, given that it was impossible for him to use the term war when he announced the “military operation” that triggered the recent escalation of the war that still persists between Russia and Ukraine.

As an example, Muratov exhibited photos of journalists and figures from Russian civil society. Before and after demonstrations against Kremlin guidelines. The series of images clearly showing torture also included Russia’s prominent opponent Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned and poisoned under suspicious circumstances until his death in 2024 by Vladimir Putin’s regime.

He also pointed to other actions taken by the Kremlin, including the use of “bots” disguised as real users and the operation of research to strengthen the narrative that Russian society was in favor of continuing the war in Ukraine, by offering 10 times more pay to young people who decided to go to the front.

Meanwhile, he urged event participants:Think about what dictatorship is and how they are gradually introduced in liberal democracies. Gestures such as extensions of duty that clearly hinted at the stated intentions of U.S. President Donald Trump, or intervention and interference in the media. As Muratov pointed out, the ultimate goal is a confluence of events that leads to war, and human lives become mere statistics that are not even published.

Muratov made no secret of his concerns about the scale of the threat on the table. Compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsin addition to tools that allow us to see beyond the manipulation and misinformation that surfaces both in social networks and other communication channels. “Without peace and human rights, there can be no progress,” the speaker summed up.