International press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders has launched a social media monitoring project that aims to detect, analyze and report online attacks against journalists and communicators during the Brazilian election campaign.

The initiative was developed in partnership with the Image and Cyberculture Studies Laboratory (Lab) at the Federal University of Espírito Santo, a reference research center specializing in the analysis of social networks and digital trends, and has the support of the Canada Fund. Local Initiatives in Brazil (FCIL).

According to RSF, cases of online attacks on journalists have multiplied and intensified in Brazil in recent years, and especially since President Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018, creating censorship and self-censorship.

Campaign attacks tracked daily

By the end of the second round, more than 100 Twitter and Facebook accounts of journalists, influencers, public officials and election candidates at both the federal and state levels will be monitored daily.

The stigmatizing speeches, offenses and insults that are consistently used in networks to attack journalists and the press will also be examined.

“In-depth analysis and systematic monitoring of online attacks on the press is crucial in order to better understand the role of the digital space in the structural scenario of violence against journalists and communicators in Brazil and to think of more effective solutions to combat the problem,” says Emmanuel Colombié, director of the RSF Latin America office.

The results of the study will be compiled and published periodically on the RSF website throughout the campaign.

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A detailed report systematizing the main trends and attacks observed during the research project will also be published at the end of the selection process.

The aim of the project is to better understand the origin, structure and organization of the spread of online attacks, to condemn the main perpetrators of these attacks and to find effective and permanent solutions to the attacks.

Officially launched on August 16, 2022, the Brazilian election campaign will conclude on October 30, with the nominations of those who will occupy the positions of president, governors, senators, federal and state lawmakers for the next four years.

In 2021, the RSF published a study on the behavior of Twitter users, which intensified most attacks on the media and journalists in the country, revealing that above all supporters of the Bolsonaro government were the main authors of these attacks.

The study also revealed that the main media groups and women journalists critical of the government were the main targets.

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