Technopopulism and Politainment in Brazil: Bolsonaro Government’s Weekly YouTube Broadcasts

Abstract

Digital platforms have become powerful weapons in the hands of many politicians. In search for disintermediation of information, Jair Messias Bolsonaro found in social networks a new space to interact with his voters. With a communication strategy primarily online, the former president of Brazil had social profiles on all platforms and has transformed these channels into official government sources, in a campaign whose goal was to discredit the traditional media and occupy the place of speech of these social actors. This article analyzed Bolsonaro’s weekly live streams, made available on his YouTube channel in order to study the technopopulism undertaken by Bolsonaro. Through a quantitative and qualitative content analysis, 121 videos (with a total duration of 83 hours and 58 minutes) were examined, from March 7, 2019, when the president of Brazil began doing the weekly YouTube broadcasts, until May 11, 2022, when this research was planned. The results indicate that the themes addressed in the live streams have influenced the disinformation process in Brazil and especially the hate attacks against important Brazilian democratic institutions. The speeches of resentment against the press, the Supreme Court, and the opposition parties are constant in Bolsonaro’s weekly programs. Finally, this article concluded that Bolsonaro’s communicative strategy on YouTube is an example of technopopulism based on the manipulation of public opinion with the dissemination of propaganda favorable to the government, and veiled attacks on all kinds of enemies of the current system in place as a true example of right-wing populist government.