Anitta stirs the networks amid the electoral debate

AFP

Singer Anitta, 29, has positioned herself as the great digital influencer of the 2022 elections after expressing her support for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), a movement that should broaden the debate among an audience traditionally distant from policy.

Less than three months before the presidential elections, 100 million of her followers on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter received on their timelines, on July 11, the singer’s position and a tacit warning that she would oppose the current president Jair Bolsonaro ( PL).

“I’m not a PT member and I never have been. But this year I’m with Lula and anyone who wants my help to make him rock here on the Internet, TikTok, Twitter, instagram, just ask me that, being within my reach and not being against electoral law, I’ll do it” , tweeted the singer.

This was the first time that Anitta, 29, has signaled support for a candidate in an election campaign, a crucial position to “punch the bubble” of supporters, according to researchers heard by AFP, who see the articulation of politicians with digital influencers.

“The public sphere is articulated in social networks, and that means that it is necessary to consider the digital as central to the discussion, to the political debate”, evaluated Issaaf Karhawi, a researcher in digital communication at the University of São Paulo (USP).

Karhawi notes that Anitta’s entry into the electoral debate can attract profiles that do not usually interact with politics, the so-called “exemptions”.

“These digital influencers are not necessarily influencers who talk about politics. They are influencers who talk about lifestyle, travel, many other subjects. But, to a certain extent, their positioning makes young people reflect on politics”, he said.

In this sense, the singer has been positioning herself in favor of the legalization of marijuana, in addition to having given advice for Lula to make better use of TikTok, one of the short video networks with the highest engagement of young users.

According to Pablo Ortellado, a professor of public policy at USP and coordinator of the Monitor for the Political Debate in the Digital Environment, Anitta’s adherence to Lula’s campaign “is loaded with symbolism, because she has always shown reservations about the PT.”

The singer herself made it clear, in another tweet, that she did not want to see her image linked to the party itself: “Don’t use my name and my image to promote your candidacy and your party because whoever uses it will soon be forced”, sentenced.

The USP researcher says that, due to the reach of these influencers, the endorsement of political campaigns is important in the digital environment. However, it does not guarantee the support of the mass of supporters when voting.

According to a survey by the Datafolha institute released on July 27, Lula leads the preferences among voters aged 16 to 29 in 12 Brazilian capitals. The PT has 51% of the support of young people, against 20% for Bolsonaro. The poll shows that the former president has a better performance among women in this age group: 58%, compared to 16% for Bolsonaro. Among men, it has 44%, while Bolsonaro has 24%.

MAKING THE NETS SHAKE

Network expert Pedro Barciela analyzed the interaction after the singer announced her support for the former president in the October general elections: “It allows a series of other users who were not interested in the political debate to become interested.”

“When we think about these influencers, these central actors from other groups that engage with the election, they allow and enable candidates to communicate with actors who are beyond polarization”, he evaluated.

However, not everything is rosy, and the “Envolver” singer became the target of disqualifications and false content on social media, including sexist content such as “deep fakes”.

According to Barciela, this is the “modus operandi” of Bolsonaro’s supporters.

“Bolsonarismo acts in a very organized way in the sense of being hierarchical and always having a very specific target”, he adds, citing other examples, such as the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Edson Fachin and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) Alexandre of Moraes.