Article
Where Does the Information Circulating in Bolsonarist WhatsApp Groups Come From
On the informational paths triggered in Bolsonarist WhatsApp groups and the central role of influencers as an information source.
On the informational paths triggered in Bolsonarist WhatsApp groups and the central role of influencers as an information source.
This article aims to understand the informational paths triggered in Bolsonarist groups on WhatsApp at two levels. First, we characterize the information sources mobilized and what the prioritization of certain informational actors may mean in political debate. Next, we carry out a specific analysis of YouTube as an information source. Our results point to a minor role of traditional media as information sources. In addition, we identified a central role of so-called influencers, which seems to point to a valuing of less institutionalized and more personal mediations of information. The analysis of the interaction between YouTube and WhatsApp, in turn, revealed that the YouTube links most shared in Bolsonarist groups tend to: (1) have a higher number of likes; (2) be shared on WhatsApp as soon as they are published on YouTube; and (3) be taken down (whether by the users themselves or by the platforms) some time after being published.
Authors: Nina Santos, Viktor Chagas e Juliana Marinho
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SANTOS, N.; CHAGAS, V.; MARINHO, J. De onde vem a informação que circula em grupos bolsonaristas no WhatsApp. Intexto, Porto Alegre, UFRGS, n. 53, e-123603, 2022.