Manuela D’Ávila is a journalist, author, and activist, currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at UFRGS. She founded the Instituto E Se Fosse Você?, focused on tackling disinformation, online hate networks, and gender- and race-based political violence. She was the youngest city councilor in Porto Alegre, the most-voted federal deputy in Brazil, and the most-voted state deputy in 2014. She ran for Vice President of Brazil in 2018 and, in 2023, chaired a federal working group addressing hate speech and extremism. She is the author of books such as Revolução Laura and E Se Fosse Você?, and editor of collections on political violence and disinformation. She is currently a pre-candidate for the Federal Senate in Rio Grande do Sul.