Fake news: understand how the political disinformation factory works in Brazil

Understand how the disinformation factory works The fake news that goes viral during election periods does not appear by chance. A study by NetLab, at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), shows how disinformation campaigns are planned, tested on specific groups and distributed strategically on social networks. "Disinformation has always been common in any election, but with platforms, with social networks, this has another scale. A capacity for segmentation", says the study coordinator, Marie Santini. The researchers point out that, before being disseminated to a larger number of people, fakes are tested in closed and niche groups. The repetition of the narrative is also capable of reaching people beyond the “bubbles” of social networks. "Disinformation today works through a permanent campaign, where you reduce people's resistance to certain narratives and increase resistance to checking. People begin to be bombarded by different sources. A repeated narrative often has the effect of starting to generate doubt in another audience that would not be the main segment of a disinformation strategy.” See how the fake news factory works: Caminho das Fake News Wagner Magalhães/g1 Production of the narrative: The first content is generally published on so-called websites with dubious content, called "junk news", and in YouTube videos from channels with few followers. Receptivity test: The next step is to test the adherence of the speech in closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups. Bubbles and segments: The next step is to distribute the content into niches through Facebook groups and targeted ads. A fake can be sent to a group of only religious people, for example, and a different one to a group with only women. Audiovisual disinformation: Next, the false information is transformed into a slightly more elaborate audiovisual piece. It can be a short or longer video, which will be shared on Instagram, TikTok and medium and large YouTube channels. "Firehose" Campaign: After the content has been tested in different contexts, the massive multiplatform distribution campaign begins. It is characterized by great volume, speed, continuity and repetition. Electronic ballot box Reproduction/TV Globo VIDEOS: Fact or Fake