The ‘Truth’ About NGOs: How the Brazilian Media Frames the Attempt to Criminalize Socio-environmental Organizations

Environmental Communication

Environmental NGOs in Brazil have become a target of disinformation campaigns, despite their long-standing role in advocating for sustainable policies.

This paper investigates how Brazil’s digital media framed the 2023 Parliamentary Inquiry Commission into NGOs operating in the Amazon, revealing the media’s role in advancing legal harassment and disinformation.

Using a mixed-methods approach that combines computational text analysis and critical discourse analysis, we examine 1,925 articles published by 230 outlets before, during and after the commission. Findings show that Junk News (low-credibility outlets) and Minor Brands (small and regional outlets) echoed one another by churning out anti-NGO conspiracies, accusing these organizations of

corruption and foreign allegiance.

In contrast, Major Brands (national mainstream outlets) offered limited coverage, avoiding any scrutiny of the commission’s motives. Our main contribution is a systematic and critical approach that reveals how media narratives wrongfully portray and criminalize NGOs as threats to national sovereignty.

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Como citar: Débora Salles, Marina Loureiro, Nicole Sanchotene & R. Marie Santini

(03 Dec 2025): The “Truth” About NGOs: How the Brazilian Media Frames the Attempt to Criminalize Socio-environmental Organizations, Environmental Communication, DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2025.2596623