“Na ditadura o Brasil era melhor”: práticas de desinformação como forma de disputa pela memória

Abstract

This research investigates disinformation practices in the production of content for social media, specifically audiovisual platforms. With the popularization of Digital Information and Communication Technologies, more and more people have started using digital tools to communicate and access information quickly, and furthermore, they themselves have become producers of content disseminated in these virtual spaces. This possibility opens up space for groups or individuals to produce and disseminate disinformation quickly and broadly, reaching a high number of users who interact with that content and causing it to be increasingly shared both by people and by the algorithms that govern social networks. In audiovisual production, one of the social platforms that stands out is YouTube, where it is possible to create channels and publish videos. One of these channels is "Brasil Paralelo," a content producer that aims to produce documentaries on history, politics, and education, but presents an alternative view to current events. In this sense, the following question arises: How does the audiovisual content production of "Brasil Paralelo" use disinformation practices to construct an alternative narrative about historical events in Brazil, particularly in the documentary "1964: Brazil Between Weapons and Books"? To answer this question, the research has the general objective of investigating the audiovisual content production of "Brasil Paralelo" and its constituent elements in the construction of a narrative about historical events in Brazil. The specific objectives are as follows: 1) to verify how disinformation practices are articulated in the current context of social interaction platforms, focusing on the production and dissemination of audiovisual content; 2) to examine the relationships between audiovisual media and the construction of memory, analyzing how media narratives can influence the perception of historical events; 3) to analyze the documentary "1964: Brazil Between Weapons and Books" produced by "Brasil Paralelo," identifying discursive strategies and elements of disinformation used in the historical reconstruction of the military dictatorship. Regarding methodological procedures, the research falls within a qualitative and exploratory approach, conducted through bibliographic and documentary research, in order to build a theoretical foundation that aided in the analysis of the documentary. Two techniques were applied: film analysis and critical discourse analysis. During the analysis of the documentary, the use of disinformation practices was identified, such as decontextualization of facts, historical denialism, fake news, use of out-of-context images, misinformation, as well as cinematographic elements that seek to win over the public through feelings and beliefs. It is concluded that the documentary produced by “Brasil Paralelo” functions as “propaganda” that preaches neutrality, but mainly seeks to provide its audience with arguments lacking rigorous or factual basis, which will be propagated on social media, generating empty debates, with disinformation as the basis for these positions, and consequently becoming ingrained in the social imaginary and creating a new narrative about the events that led to the military dictatorship in Brazil and the consequences of this process.