How evangelical news websites shape the views of millions in Brazil

The new Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro has shocked the liberal world with its right-wing views and efforts to block a progressive agenda for minorities and human rights. In January, Brazil’s only openly gay congressman, Jean Wyllys, left politics – and the country – citing fears for his life and the current hostile climate against minorities.

But what if these threatening views were not just a temporary or minority aberration, but something far more long term, popular and widespread? In Brazil, a whole swathe of the media is now dedicated to proliferating conservative views and Christian evangelical values. These websites, which share so-called “gospel news”, tell popular stories about anti-abortion activists and the “conversions” of gay men into straight men.

As the country’s Catholic majority shrinks, evangelicals are on the rise — 22.2 percent of Brazilians said they were evangelicals in 2010, up from 6.6 percent in 1980. Indeed, they are now the most influential evangelical community in South America. And much of the information they consume comes from gospel news websites.

I initially conducted research into these gospel news websites in 2008, when I found them to be growing in popularity and sophistication. A decade...