Disinformation

A lethal virus for democracy that erodes trust in public institutions

Resumo

Disinformation is currently used by elected leaders or those who aspire to power to arouse suspicion about governments, research institutions, political parties, and legal systems, in order to arouse feelings of skepticism, frustration, and indignation in the population and thus garner more political support. In Brazil, the spread of disinformation phenomena is related to serious social problems, such as vaccine hesitancy, invasion of democratic institutions, and electoral crimes, with serious consequences for life in society. Thus, the research seeks to bring theoretical contributions to the theme, still little explored in the national context, in order to assist in the proposition of public policies that can strengthen the population's confidence in Brazilian public institutions and, thus, allow the State to continue acting in the interest of the people and ensuring their social and economic well-being, without running the risk of power falling into the hands of private interests.