The Promise and Peril of Social Media in Brazil – Progressive.org

Before the Internet became widely available in Brazil, the bangs and whistles of fireworks were a source of fear among residents of the favelas, or slum communities, in Rio de Janeiro. Lit by olheiros, teenagers who watched over a favelas entrances, they signaled that either the police or a rival gang was about to start a raid. Once heard, there would be little time to find a safe place to hide from the gunfire that usually began shortly afterward; workers returning to their homes on the citys hilltops were often the most at risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

The rise of social mediaWhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegramended the era of using fireworks as a means of protection for Rios poor. Now, the roughly 1,074 favelas that exist in the city (including some formalized settlements), which house around 22 percent of Rios population, are able to instantly exchange information when a dangerous situation is about to occur. These platforms have increased safety in the city while having the added benefit of producing far less noise.

The rise of social media ended the era of using fireworks as a means of protection for Rios poor.

Josi Oliveira, a forty-year-old carpet seller, was born and raised in Jacarezinho, one of Rios most violent favelas. Oliveira pays close attention to three different WhatsApp groups that are based in her community; she uses them to find out which areas are under threat and where to seek shelter.

Before, it was just the fireworks, Oliveria says. We didnt know what to do. Sometimes we missed work. Today, we know where we should go or avoid going.

Since it launched in Brazil in 2009, WhatsApp has become the most popular social network in the country, with 165 million active usersmore than 75 percent of the countrys total population. The Meta-owned mobile messaging service, in terms of users, is followed by YouTube (138 million), Instagram (119 million), and Facebook (116 million). Telegram, a relatively newer app, is installed on 60 percent of smartphones in Brazil.

While messaging apps are frequently used to avoid daily violence, Facebook pages have become a sort of impromptu warning system when an area is imperiled by landslides, flooding, and power outages, among other disasters. In Brazil, Facebook, like in many countries in the Global South, is also a vital platform for business transactions. In October 2021, a worldwide outage of Facebook and its applications that lasted more than five hours led to concern and harm for those who use social networks to advertise their servicesin addition to a feeling of social isolation from not being able to communicate with family and friends.

Paula Fidlis, thirty-three, has lived in Rocinha, the citys largest favela, for five years. She is a stylist who works with hair extensions and advertises her services on a Facebook page dedicated exclusively to Rocinha residents. Facebook is important to Fidlis because it helped her gain clients both within Rocinha and from the outside her community. I have had positive feedback, and I think it is important to use them for work and some even get famous through social media," she said.

Fake news can be particularly dangerous for favela residents who are looking for accurate information to protect themselves from the risk of violence.

Aline Rodrigues, thirty-three, also lives in Rocinha and relies on Facebook as a way to drum up business selling modest skirts and dresses for Evangelical women. I have been selling Gospel clothes for two years on social networks, she says. Sometimes the customers from outside are afraid to come to my store in Rocinha, but we can reach them through [these apps].

But social networks have their dark side. The spread of fake news online (especially on Facebook and WhatsApp) affects Brazilian society as a whole. In the lead-up to the 2018 presidential election that brought Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsanaro to power, for example, misinformation was widely circulated on WhatsApp. The vast majority of these messages were spread by rightwing sources, likely tipping public debate in his favor.

Fake news can be particularly dangerous for favela residents who are looking for accurate information to protect themselves from the risk of violence. But despite social medias ability to influence or enforce peoples opinions through individually tailored algorithms, in general, many of those who live in favelas say they have a good sense of discerning what is true or false.

In a country with high social and economic inequality, the main concern of the residents of Brazil's poor communities is their survival. For many people from less privileged social classes, social networks go beyond leisure; they are a livelihood.

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The Promise and Peril of Social Media in Brazil - Progressive.org