Riots in Brazil: Bolsonarism is down but not out
Days after President Lula Da Silva is sworn in, a conspiracy-fuelled mob targets the seat of government in Brazil. Plus, the Italian Mafia take to TikTok.
The recent invasion of Brazil’s democratic institutions, days after President Lula da Silva was sworn in, looks like a carbon copy of the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol in the United States.
Like MAGA Americans, many of Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters have been radicalised online and, as the Trump-Bolsonaro effect hits Brazil, the country’s issues with misinformation are exposed.
Contributors:
David Nemer – Assistant professor, University of Virginia
Charlotte Peet – Journalist
Gustavo Ribeiro – Founder, The Brazilian Report
Rose Marie Santini – Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Director, NetLab
On our radar:
In Belarus this week, reporters from what was once the country’s top independent news outlet went on trial. Meenakshi Ravi reports on Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on journalists that looks Putin-esque.
The Mafia’s TikTok takeover
Elements of the Italian underworld are surfacing online. Flo Phillips reports from Rome on the Mafia’s new stomping ground – TikTok.
Contributors:
Alessandra Dolci – Deputy prosecutor, Milan Anti-Mafia Directorate
Nico Falco – Journalist, Fanpage
Marcello Ravveduto – Professor of digital public history, University of Salerno