Valuing and facilitating the work of the press, recovering the credibility of government communication and combating disinformation were the main commitments announced by the new minister of the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom), Paulo Pimenta, who took office this Tuesday. fair (3), in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, in Brasília. The ceremony was attended by several parliamentarians and other authorities, including former president Dilma Rousseff. 
“In President Lula’s government there will be no walls or fences. There will be no offenses, threats or violence. There will be facts, arguments and a lot of work. We will do this with responsibility and respect for everyone involved in the country’s information process. Government communication needs to return to be a safe, reliable and credible access route for Brazil to travel a smooth road towards the country we want to build”, highlighted the minister in his speech.
He highlighted the work of the press as “essential in any democracy”, but that it depends on “solid bridges, mainly those that link journalism professionals to the federal government and public power in general. The minister guaranteed that the government will facilitate access from journalists to sources and that access to the Planalto Palace and ministries will be transparent and efficient.
Regarding government communication, Pimenta criticized the way in which the previous government spread disinformation, mainly through official channels.
“Government communication needs to recover the capacity and credibility to be a disseminator of relevant information, with parameters for separating the wheat from the chaff. In recent years, there has been a deliberate confusion in these actions. The lack of credibility of authorities, that distanced themselves from the truth and facts, fed an industry that even hindered the fight against the covid-19 virus. Misinformation kills.
Also according to the minister, from now on the provision of services and public utility information “will no longer be contaminated with ideological positions with decision-making on what should or should not be broadcast”.
public communication
Quoting the Brazil Communication Company (EBC)Paulo Pimenta undertook to review the merger of programs between TV Brasil, a public broadcaster, and TV NBR, a government broadcaster.
“NBR will once again have its role as a government TV and will serve to communicate the government’s actions, while TV Brasil will continue as a public TV, always valuing the quality of its products and information taken to the country”, he guaranteed.
Misinformation and digital platforms
Another point addressed by the Minister of Secom in his speech was tackling the problems of misinformation on digital platforms, indicating that the new government will look into proposals in the area.
“The wide spread of disinformation and hate speech in the digital environment affects individual and collective rights, and negatively impacts democracy. We need to include Brazil in the global effort to seek solutions to these problems”, he said.
One of the novelties in Secom’s new structure is the creation of a Secretariat for Digital Policies, which will centralize the debate on this topic.
Profile
Paulo Pimenta is a journalist and agricultural technician graduated from the Federal University of Santa Maria (IFSM), in Rio Grande do Sul. He is in his sixth term as federal deputy for the PT Gaucho and, in the last elections, he was again the party’s most voted in his state. He also chairs the PT in Rio Grande do Sul.
At the beginning of his political trajectory, he was active in the student movement and served two terms as councilor in Santa Maria.
Between 2000 and 2002, he was deputy mayor of the city. As a federal deputy, he served as rapporteur and chairman of several committees, including the chairmanship of the Mixed Budget Commission, the most important of the National Congress, between 2012 and 2013.
