The "Media and Democracy" project is an initiative by the School of Communication, Media, and Information at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV ECMI), in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil, aimed at strengthening Brazilian democracy, ensuring the integrity of digital spaces, and promoting quality information. The partnership also involves the German center for public debate analysis, Democracy Reporting International (DRI). The project focuses on three main areas of work: monitoring and analyzing digital media, fact-checking, and establishing a Council comprising researchers, civil society members, government representatives, and digital platform stakeholders.
Project Objectives
The project's main objective is to facilitate in-depth discussions and examinations of crucial themes in Brazilian politics, including gender issues, racial disparities, minority rights, and hate speech. This endeavor involves the systematic monitoring of social media public discourse on a weekly basis, with the purpose of generating monthly resolutions that will guide bimonthly meetings. These meetings aim to formulate conclusive insights for advancing societal progress. FGV ECMI spearheads the project's execution, with significant analytical contributions from FGV Direito Rio, particularly focused on gender-related concerns. Spanning a duration of 1 to 3 years, the initiative occupies a vital role within the School's broader agenda, as it actively promotes the cultivation of high-quality public discourse and the fortification of democratic principles.
The project has already yielded a significant body of work, including the publication of numerous articles and various media appearances. Notable among these contributions are: "Between Violence and Empowerment: How Presidential Candidates Addressed Women's Rights and Gender Issues in the 2022 Election," "Gender and Women's Rights on Social Media: Mobilizations, Reactions, and Sentiments in Presidential Candidates' Posts in 2022," "Disinformation, Conservatism, and Transphobic Narratives Shape Anti-Trans Content in Bills from 2019 to 2023," "Transgender Discourse Dominated by Far-Right Ideological Groups on Facebook from 2019 to 2023," and "Left-wing Congresswomen Supported by Majority of YouTube Comments in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies' Ethics Committee," the latter of which is forthcoming in English, but has already garnered media attention. All of these are the result of a collaborative partnership between FGV Direito Rio and DRI. More publications on Midia and Democracy Project by ECMI and other partners are available on the project’s webpage: https://midiademocracia.fgv.br/estudos
Prof. Yasmin Curzi, Lorena Abbas and Giullia Thomaz