As political discussions migrate from the social media arena to more restricted circles on messaging apps, WhatsApp Messenger is working hard to prevent misinformation from flooding hundreds of millions of smartphones.
Nearly 80 percent of Brazilians use WhatsApp, and 58 percent use it for daily news consumption, according to the latest Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report. So despite the massive audience of free-to-air TV ads and public social media, these are the most crucial channels in these elections.
President Jair Bolsonaro’s ascension in 2018’s election was primarily due to his greater presence on social media compared to his competitors. During the last presidential election, Mr. Bolsonaro amassed 48 million engagements — more than double the interactions obtained by Fernando Haddad, his center-left opponent.
His campaign was also strongly driven by bulk messaging strategies on WhatsApp, with narratives against supposedly left-wing cultural and social platforms.
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