The teleological arc of disinformation ethics: from the pomadistas of Machado de Assis to the deniers of the pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Bezerra, Arthur Coelho
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Schneider, Marco, Capurro, Rafael
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng; por
• Título da fonte: RECIIS (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.reciis.icict.fiocruz.br/index.php/reciis/article/view/3250
• topic: Information ethics; Disinformation; Pandemic; Covid-19; Public health.; Ética de la información; Desinformación; Pandemia; Covid-19; Salud pública.; Ética da informação; Desinformação; Pandemia; Covid-19; Saúde pública.

The article analyzes different purposes of disinformation practices, notably in the field of public health. The method includes a multidisciplinary comparative bibliographic analysis, in the interface of philosophy and information science, having as main objects of investigation a literary document by Machado de Assis, published in 1822, and a government document made available for the public by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on the Pandemic, in 2021. The aim is to compare the ethics that guide the fictional actions of the charlatans of the Machadian tale (the “pomadistas”) and the practices of disinformation in public health, as pointed out by the CPI. The result of the analysis reveals the scope of the phenomenon of disinformation and its results, in an arc that can go from the life protection until driving to death. It is concluded that disinformation needs to be discussed responsibly to avoid thoughtless or moralistic representations, and the studies based on information ethics can contribute to the philosophical deepening and critical evaluation of the phenomenon.