Influencers come together for a less toxic political arena – 12/16/2023 – Power

The cell phones that suddenly appear during class give clues to the profile of the class gathered in a room in the capital of São Paulo in mid-November. One device plays unexpected music, another emits a human voice — and their owners rush to interrupt them.

They are digital influencers who have an active life on social media and were called for training by Redes Cordiais, a project that seeks to spread the idea of ​​”responsible influence” to tackle issues such as political polarization, hate speech and misinformation.

In that day’s activity, 12 guests learned about public security with experts from the Sou da Paz Institute. The idea is to take advantage of the “communication cannon” of influencers, as defined by a mediator, calling them “new Faustões, new Fátimas Bernardes”.

Created in 2018, Redes Cordiais is part of a list of organizations that encourage artists, personalities and content creators to work towards a less toxic digital environment.

In addition to checking agencies such as Lupa and Aos Fatos, platforms such as Despolarize and Politize! gained space with initiatives to combat fake news and stimulate a healthy and democratic debate in the country that was divided between Lula (PT) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the 2022 elections.

In the name of such cordiality, Redes has already attracted figures with different profiles such as actresses Paolla Oliveira and Dira Paes, comedian Fabio Porchat, singers Rogério Flausino and Manu Gavassi and journalists Leda Nagle and Guilherme Fiuza to its courses and campaigns.

“Our work aims to transform these strategic actors”, says journalist and researcher Clara Becker, co-founder of the project. “Influencers need to be engaged in the task of media education, so that they become better examples and share knowledge.”

In the conversation about security, one of the repeated clichés was the need to “pierce bubbles” to reach other audiences and have a real impact. All participants on that date had a progressive tendency, but in general there is a concern about calling out conservatives as well.

“I started to think twice before sharing things,” he told Sheet influencer Kaique Brito (164 thousand followers on TikTok and 96 thousand on Instagram), who attended a Redes Cordiais meeting for the second time. The first time was four years ago, when he had just turned 15.

Kaique published a video before the second round last year with tips such as controlling emotions before posting, being careful with “deep fakes” (images created using artificial intelligence) and avoiding reacting to provocations.

In the discussion about crime and human rights, influencers such as Rodrigo Kenji, from the Normose channel, Jota Marques, Clara Averbuck and Cazé Pecini agreed that the agenda requires balanced discussion and reliable data, but recognized that opening avenues of dialogue is difficult.

The executive director of Sou da Paz, Carolina Ricardo, said that influencers can help “amplify the voices involved in the topic, reaching even teenagers sitting at home watching Instagram”.

Between looking at their cell phones, the group also shared anxieties, with complaints that representatives of the Bolsonarist right refuse to talk based on arguments, banning debates, and that attacks by “haters” (detractors) erode the mental health of those targets.

One of the conclusions was that it is necessary to try to feel the pain of others, practicing the much-talked about empathy, but also admitting one’s own limitations, so as not to suffer trying to save the world. Advice was also circulated to avoid the trap of boasting alleged moral superiority.

One of the main influencers in the country, Felipe Neto had contact with Redes Cordiais in its early years and was already interviewed at a project event. In 2021, he founded the Vero Institute, with the announced objective of using technologies to disseminate information and strengthen democracy.

On November 19, Felipe slipped in his own book when he posted a photo of a professional from the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo to criticize reports and make insinuations.

Soon after, he deleted the content and made a new publication. He said he made a mistake, apologized to the journalist and stated that “it is not right to expose her photo or encourage any type of persecution of her.”

The communicator told the report, via advisor, that his “life mission is currently to work and invest more and more in favor of a healthier and more sustainable internet” and that, when he created Vero, he sought to get closer to organizations that were already working with digital rights and media education.

Felipe’s institute also uses influencers to try to influence the public arena, as it understands that they focus collective attention. “These figures have the role of shaping the flow of information, dictating trends and suggesting the tone of the conversation”, says Vero’s communications director, Victor Vicente.

According to Redes Cordiais, 300 people have already gone through its actions, followed by 238 million accounts.

Last year, in light of the offensive against electronic voting machines, the entity took 30 influencers to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) to speak with technicians and see the area for totalizing the results, mistakenly called the “secret room” by Bolsonaro and his allies.

One of those present was Pastor Pedrão, a Bolsonaro supporter who celebrated the wedding of deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP). At the time, he ran a poll on his page and saw that 90% of his followers didn’t trust the polls. This did not stop him from posting content about the visit.

“Our effort is to plant seeds, break bubbles and have diversity. It’s not always easy”, says Clara Becker. “Just having influencers open to listening to what we have to say, we already consider it a success, but, obviously, not in all areas our messages bear fruit.”

The pastor is an example, according to her, of a former student who even occasionally improved his practices as an opinion leader, but “was not exactly converted” to the proposal of permanent responsible influence, even in the case of former Bolsonaro federal deputy Alê Silva (Republicans -MG).

For 2024, the year of municipal elections, plans are to repeat the trip to the TSE and immerse themselves in the STF (Supreme Federal Court) with the intention of explaining the role of the court and its ministers.

Non-profit, Redes is funded by donations from organizations such as the Brazilian Betty & Jacob Lafer Institute and the American National Fund for Democracy. It has also received resources from big techs such as Google and Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp).

The organization defines itself as nonpartisan, but not neutral. It has a non-negotiable pro-democracy flag, but avoids ideological positions to attract people from all sides.