Science and Technology Minister Ximena Lincolao engaged in a tense exchange with journalist Rafael Cavada during an interview on CHV. The encounter follows an incident where the minister was harassed at a university in southern Chile.
During the conversation, Lincolao described the current state of social media as a highly hostile environment. The minister characterized the platform X as “a machinery for creating narratives, of tremendous violence.”
The minister asserted that cyberattacks are illegal and stated that action is already being “taken to address the issue.” According to Lincolao, it is possible to trace the origin of these digital attacks.
Links to smear campaigns
The atmosphere grew tense when Cavada posed a direct question regarding previous investigations, recalling the smear campaign directed at candidate Evelyn Matthei.
“Are you aware that the last investigation into this led directly to associates of the current president, José Antonio Kast?” Cavada asked. The journalist noted that this episode resulted in the departure of a member of Canal 13's board of directors.
The journalist detailed how the communication blitz on Twitter utilized smears and slander, including false accusations regarding Matthei's health. Cavada linked these actions to individuals who are now part of the current administration.
In response to the questioning, Minister Lincolao distanced herself from the mentioned incidents. However, she criticized the lack of technical resources to combat disinformation in the country.
“I come from the tech world, so it is surprising to me that all the technological tools for protection against slander and defamation have not been used in recent years,” the minister maintained.
Following the broadcast of the interview, Cavada shared a clip of the conversation on his X account. The journalist used strong language to describe the minister's stance on content regulation.
“I must add, my friend, that this is the first official I have seen interested in muzzling a bunch of primates wandering the networks,” the journalist wrote on the social media platform.
