VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS ON JAIR BOLSONARO’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL: analysis of the first 100 days of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

VIOLÊNCIA CONTRA JORNALISTAS NO CANAL DE JAIR BOLSONARO NO YOUTUBE: análise dos 100 primeiros dias de pandemia de covid-19 no Brasil

VIOLENCIA CONTRA PERIODISTAS EN EL CANAL DE JAIR BOLSONARO EN YOUTUBE: análisis de los primeros 100 días de la pandemia covid-19 en Brasil

ABSTRACT

Social platforms are environments prioritized by populist governments around the world and spaces frequently used for exchanging information without journalistic mediation. Invalidating the press is an increasingly evident strategy by political voices: a warning sign of attacks against journalists, amplified during the covid-19 pandemic. Jair Bolsonaro is one of the more striking examples in Brazil and this article aims to understand the frequency and types of attacks on the press in videos published by the Brazilian president’s YouTube channel. A hybrid methodology of content analysis and digital methods is developed for this study. The time frame covers the first 100 days of the health crisis in the country – from February 26 to June 4, 2020. The results show that the press is mentioned in 36% of the content; 40% of which represents criticism, 28% verbal attacks and 26% media discredit.

Key words
Jair Bolsonaro; Attacks on the press; Covid-19; Digital methods; YouTube