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Do you believe in fake after all? WhatsApp Disinformation Campaign during Brazilian 2018 election

Politics of Disinformation


Jair Bolsonaro was elected Brazilian president in 2018 amid accusations of benefiting from na “industry of lies” (Phillips 2018) fired off on WhatsApp group. As a far right politician with no TV airtime, he credited his victory to social media (Andrade and Maia 2018), earning him the moniker “the Trump of the tropics” (BBC 2018). Bolsonaro’s campaing demonstrates parallels not only with Trump’s communication strategy but also with other rigth-wing leaders, such as Duderte (Phillippines), Modi (Índia), and Erdogan (Turkey).

From the book "Politics of Disinformation", that delivers a thorough discussion of the overwhelming problem of modern fake news in the political arena. The book reviews fundamental theoretical concepts of disinformation and analyzes the impact of new techniques of misinformation and the dissemination of false information in the public space. A group of distinguished authors provide case studies throughout the work to illustrate the effect of disinformation all around the world; including, but not limited to Europe, the Middle East, and South America.


The chapters include examination of topics such as the rise of populism, the increasing political influence of social networks, the use of fact checking to combat fake news and echo chambers, and comparative analyses of how disinformation affects conservatives and liberals. A final case study examines all of these factors as they relate to the recent Spanish election of 2019 and how they affected the results.

 

How to cite: Santini, R. M., Tucci, G., Salles, D., & de Almeida, A. R. D. (2021). Do You Believe in Fake After All?. Politics of Disinformation, 51.


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