Good morning! Today, the unsurprising duo leading Brazil’s social media engagement. Fake news bill hits a snag in Congress. No progress made on Covid inquiry’s findings.
Election: who’s ahead in the social media game
President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dominate the world of social media just like they dominate polls for the October election. Exclusive data from media monitoring company NewsWhip shows that stories related to either of the frontrunners track more than those about any other contender.
- Lula peaked in March of last year with 16 million interactions in the week the Supreme Court quashed his corruption and money-laundering convictions and reinstated his political rights.
- Since then, he and Mr. Bolsonaro have alternated in drawing the most engagement on social media. Like in the polls, no “third-way” candidate comes close to threatening their lead.
Echo chambers. NewsWhip also mapped the most engaging news stories concerning the main candidates, reaffirming the notion that social media is no place for nuance. The top stories are either glorifying candidates — shared by supporters — or adamantly bashing them with punches below the waistline — and becoming hits among detractors.
- In Lula’s case, for example, one of the...