{"id":82639,"date":"2026-02-20T10:38:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82639"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:51:56","slug":"brazil-elections-2026-favela-communicators-fight-misinformation-and-digital-vulnerability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82639","title":{"rendered":"Brazil Elections 2026: Favela Communicators Fight Misinformation and Digital Vulnerability"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"During<\/a>
During the pandemic, false theories about vaccines affected the decision-making of favela residents. Photo: Jos\u00e9 Cruz\/Ag\u00eancia Brasil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/strong><\/i><\/em><\/i><\/em><\/a><\/h4>\n

This article begins a series on the 2026 Brazilian elections, focusing on the perspectives of Greater Rio’s favelas.<\/em><\/p>\n

Misinformation is a silent epidemic\u2014yet its consequences are immediate and tangible. In Brazilian favelas, it is no different. The investigation Fake News: The Epidemic that Invades Peripheries<\/em><\/a>, carried out and released by Data Favela<\/a> in July 2024, revealed that 89% of Brazil’s favela residents\u2014about 94 million people\u2014were victims of fake news<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Misinformation affects favela residents in several ways: disseminating false data about the sale of products or services (65%); in the areas of public policies for education, health and vaccination (64%); on the economy and taxes (58%); with regard to public safety and laws (52%); and environmental, scientific, and educational issues (49%).<\/p>\n

The problem goes beyond simple rumors: fake news kept residents away from health centers at the height of the pandemic<\/a>. It generates panic during police operations and influences important political decisions<\/a>. The combination of limited access to reliable sources<\/a> and the speed<\/a> with which messages spread through messaging and social media apps creates the perfect scenario for disinformation in Brazil’s favelas.<\/p>\n

Let\u00edcia Pinheiro, a community organizer from the Acari<\/a> favela, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, holds a master’s degree in Social Work and is a member of Fala Akari<\/a>, a community media collective focused on grassroots human rights education. Pinheiro emphasizes that videos with distorted data spread quickly at critical moments\u2014such as floods<\/a> or police operations<\/a>\u2014just when residents need information most.<\/p>\n

\u201cVideos that distort local reality circulate widely, spreading misinformation about the community. This intensifies fear among residents, especially during critical moments, emergency situations\u2014whether [during] climate crises such as floods or health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic\u2014and during police operations. These are times of great need when people urgently seek guidance but often end up receiving incorrect information, much like a game of \u2018telephone.\u2019\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Social worker and Lins de Vasconcelos<\/a> resident Rafael Sousa, creator of A Voz do Lins<\/em><\/a>, a favela media channel that has been operating for ten years<\/a>, shares how misleading information about a rape case in 2020 almost led to the conviction of an innocent person.<\/p>\n

\u201cA girl here [in Lins] was sexually assaulted and a young man had his photo and personal details disclosed in WhatsApp groups citing him as the perpetrator [of the crime]. After we verified the information, we were also contacted by the victim’s family, who informed us that, although the young man looked a lot like the accused, he was not the criminal. Someone simply got hold of photos and information from a stranger and shared what happened through an audio message. To avoid unfair retaliation, the innocent man had to file a police report and record a video\u2014which was released through mainstream media\u2014to clarify that he wasn\u2019t the perpetrator.\u201d \u2014 Rafael Sousa<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rafael warns of why this happens, and how this type of information can drive entire families into despair.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne key aspect\u2014which is not exclusive to [our community] but is common in [many] favelas and peripheral areas\u2014is the kind of widely shared fake news that circulates daily, mainly through WhatsApp groups. These messages have an alarmist tone that fuels fear and are often used to undermine issues related to the federal government or public services, such as health care and social assistance. There is a large volume of misinformation on these topics that contributes to a climate of fear within the community.\u201d \u2014 Rafael Sousa<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let\u00edcia Pinheiro points out that the alarmist tone that accompanies many fake news stories also harms the mental health of residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cPanic attacks, heart attacks and other issues emerge in regions that are already marked by constant [human rights] violations. It’s a perverse game in which favelas are targeted for their social and digital vulnerability.\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pinheiro mentions the 2022 elections<\/a>, when right-wing groups took advantage of the chaos generated by the pandemic to reproduce anti-vaccine rhetoric, confusing the population.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the pandemic, all the misinformation about vaccines [made many residents reluctant] to get vaccinated. During the elections, claims bordering on the absurd<\/a> were spread, such as the notion that ‘vaccines turn people into alligators.’ If we stop to think about the impact of this phenomenon on the political debate, especially during elections<\/a>, we have a major problem: the fake news produced by right-wing sectors intensified disinformation<\/a> and directly targeted favelas and peripheral areas. And this is a serious issue because the majority of the people in these areas have a hard time accessing official information channels. Many residents have access to social media, but have not had the formal education necessary to enable them to tell whether a news story is real or fake.\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Rocinha<\/a>
Rocinha residents who participated in the Health Communication training, an initiative of the Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em> Informa Network program. Photo: Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em> Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Karen Fontoura was born and raised in the Rocinha<\/a> favela and is a journalist with the Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em><\/a> community news portal. She reenforces that the pandemic was pivotal<\/a> for the news site to start a more intense campaign against fake news, since vaccination against Covid-19 was crucial to residents\u2019 survival.<\/p>\n

\u201c[While the rest of] Rio de Janeiro was getting ready for a third dose, Rocinha still hadn\u2019t gotten the vaccine. People just kept moving around as usual. Rocinha never stopped\u2014even with the ‘stay at home’ campaign. Buses and vans remained crowded with workers because they didn’t have the choice to stay home\u2014and still the vaccines didn’t come. The impact of fake news became more evident during the pandemic when all the rhetoric devaluing SUS [the public healthcare system] and the vaccine itself emerged from governmental officials. Their speeches influenced a drop in vaccine demand, which was reflected in the favelas. So we realized we had to work to reverse this situation.\u201d \u2014 Karen Fontoura<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Pinheiro, miscommunication does not originate in the favelas\u2014it is, in fact, the result of the State\u2019s lack of accountability in disseminating information to society. She shares that she has identified highly educated people in Acari\u2014including judges\u2014believing fake news.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a gap in public communication\u2026 that does not reach these communities in a clear and reliable way. All of this contributes to a context in which disinformation spreads easily, undermining not only everyday decision-making, but also democratic debate itself.\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Role of Community Media in the Fight Against Fake News<\/h3>\n

In response to this scenario, media collectives engage in organized resistance to reverse or mitigate the impacts of disinformation in their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe check who produced each video [published on our social media, and] if it\u2019s recent… we cross-reference the information with official sources. This network mobilization allows us to accept what the population is sharing while evaluating the speed and veracity of the information. We use WhatsApp and Facebook a lot, but always with caution. Everything that comes to us is verified. People often share things without reading carefully. Our role is to guide, to explain when something is fake and provide legitimate sources so that people can have accurate information.\u201d \u2014 Let\u00edcia Pinheiro<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to implementing consolidated reporting techniques, community media collectives also offer training for new journalists in an effort to combat fake news. In 2024, Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em> held a course on Health Communication in Rocinha, where they problematized misinformation in the context of community health.<\/p>\n

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Um post compartilhado por Fala Ro\u00e7a (@jornalfalaroca)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n