Disinformation and freedom of speech in the Euro-Mediterranean region
5 February 2026. From 18:30 | Conference | English | IEMed
The phenomenon of disinformation is not foreign to the Mediterranean region. Local and foreign actors use diverse communication environments to disseminate content and narratives with the aim of affecting the formation of the public opinion and free access to information. As in other regions, a proper understanding of the problem and the formulation of solutions require paying special attention to factors such as the role of states as disseminators of disinformation, the situation of the media ecosystem, the cultural and socioeconomic environment, the regulation of disinformation as a strategy to restrict dissenting discourses, as well as institutional weaknesses.
A lecture by Joan Barata, expert in freedom of expression and media regulation and senior legal consultant at The Future of Free Speech. He is a Visiting professor at Faculdade de Direito – Universidade Católica Portuguesa and member of the Center for Law, Democracy and Society at Queen Mary University in London. He has been Senior Legal Fellow at The Future Free Speech project at Vanderbilt University and well as Fellow of the Program on Platform Regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. He has published a large number of articles and books on these subjects, both in academic and popular press. He is regularly involved in projects with international organizations such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where he was the principal advisor to the Representative on Media Freedom. Joan Barata also has experience as a regulator, as he held the position of Secretary General of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia in Spain and was member of the Permanent Secretariat of the Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities.
Within the framework of the Aula Mediterrània lecture series 2025-2026.
A session moderated by Pere Franch, Professor at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations, Blanquerna-URL, and co-organised with the Master’s degree in International Journalism, Blanquerna-URL.
It takes place at the IEMed conference room (Girona, 20 · Barcelona)
Speakers
Joan Barata
Expert in freedom of expression and media regulation
Pere Franch
Professor at the Faculty of Communication and International Relations Blanquerna – URLOrganised by
Within the framework of
