Disinformation and Democracy: A Necessary Reflection from Torres
On July 7 and 8, 2025, the 19th edition of the Summer Courses of the University of Jaén was held in the town of Torres, located in the province of Jaén. This well-established academic initiative once again counted on the active collaboration of FIBGAR in its organization.
This year’s course, titled “Disinformation and Democracy: Challenges and Solutions in the Current Context”, addressed one of the most urgent issues of our time. In a hyperconnected world where disinformation spreads rapidly through social media, news outlets, and digital platforms, the strengthening of democratic societies requires informed, critical citizens who are aware of the dangers posed by information manipulation. In response to this growing threat, the course provided a space for rigorous analysis, open reflection, and practical learning, aimed at understanding the corrosive effects of disinformation on democracy, human rights, and social cohesion.
FIBGAR’s participation in the Torres summer courses is part of a long-standing partnership with the University of Jaén to promote academic activities focused on democratic values, the rule of law, and fundamental rights. This accumulated experience allows us to design training proposals that combine theoretical analysis with practical tools for social and educational action. In this edition, the urgency of the topic and the high level of the speakers resulted in two intensive days where various dimensions of the disinformation phenomenon were explored—from its impact on political processes to its ties with economic interests and hate speech.
The course was inaugurated by our Honorary President, Baltasar Garzón, whose opening lecture set the tone by highlighting that we are facing a profound crisis for democracy and human rights. In his words, “Disinformation plays a fundamental role as a mechanism to undermine the rule of law and reinforce forms of competitive authoritarianism. In response, there is only one path: education, learning, and development from early schooling, with shared responsibility. There is no other way.” His remarks not only introduced the central theme of the course but also served as an urgent call to collective action rooted in knowledge, civic responsibility, and the active defense of democratic values.
Throughout the sessions, the course followed a thematic path that allowed participants to understand both the roots and consequences of disinformation. Professor Juan Antonio Nicolás Marín, from the University of Granada, provided a rigorous conceptual framework by analyzing the motivations, mechanisms, and effects of disinformation in the public sphere. His contribution laid the groundwork for subsequent presentations.
He was followed by Professor Felipe Morente Mejías, from the University of Jaén, who focused on the impact of disinformation on democracy and human rights. He emphasized how digital technologies are being used to attack freedom of expression and to spread hate speech, while advocating for ethical technology use and media literacy as tools of democratic resistance.
One of the most enriching aspects of the course was the diversity of perspectives from journalism, history, and political analysis. Investigative journalist and FIBGAR board member Eduardo Martín de Pozuelo focused his intervention on the use of propaganda and lies during the Nazi regime, showing how manipulation was central to totalitarianism. His historical analysis served as a stark warning against trivializing the truth in times of crisis.
In the same vein, journalist Jesús Maraña, editor-in-chief of Infolibre, presented recent examples of politically motivated disinformation in Spain, including the 11-M attacks and the construction of conspiracy theories that severely impacted public debate and institutional credibility. Both speakers emphasized the crucial role of the media and public institutions in fighting disinformation through quality journalism, transparency, and fact-checking.
A particularly innovative contribution came from María Garzón, President of FIBGAR, who offered a gender-based critical perspective. Her intervention examined the economic interests behind many disinformation campaigns, with a special focus on organized misogyny in digital spaces. She introduced the concept of the “manosphere,” referring to online communities that promote misogynistic, anti-feminist, and conspiratorial narratives that fuel hate and polarization with real-life consequences for women. This approach highlighted a structural dimension of disinformation that is often overlooked: its ability not only to destabilize democracy, but also to reinforce power hierarchies based on gender, symbolic violence, and exclusion.
On the second day, Professor Juan Manuel de Faramiñán Fernández-Fígares, from the University of Jaén, focused his lecture on the dangers of civic passivity and social atomization in the digital age. With a reflective tone, he warned of how information overload can lead to conformity and the loss of critical thinking, calling for the reconstruction of democratic deliberation spaces through collective engagement.
Professor Lorena Arce Romeral, from the University of Málaga, addressed disinformation in the environmental field, discussing “greenwashing” as a form of corporate manipulation that distorts public perception about sustainability. Her presentation underscored how disinformation affects all aspects of social life, including the global fight against the climate crisis.
The course concluded with a thought-provoking intervention by Professor Ignacio Molina Álvarez de Cienfuegos, from the Elcano Royal Institute, who encouraged participants to continually question themselves in order to avoid falling into a single, dominant way of thinking that can give rise to new forms of manipulation.
Finally, Professor Juan Manuel de Faramiñán Gilbert closed the session by affirming that, even in difficult times, it is possible to “navigate against the current” if one remains ethically committed to truth, free thought, and the active defense of democracy.
This year’s edition was undoubtedly a clear demonstration of the value of critical education and open dialogue in facing the complex challenges of our time. At FIBGAR, we reaffirm our commitment to education as a powerful tool to strengthen democracy and counter all forms of manipulation, hatred, and exclusion. In a time of informational confusion and widespread mistrust, the answer remains the same: more knowledge, more dialogue, and more rights.
