Vini Jr.: Racism dominates debate on networks, says study – 05/23/2023 – Sport

Racism is the main theme of posts on social networks that mention Vinicius Junior, a Real Madrid player who was expelled from a football match this Sunday (21) after reacting to racist offenses uttered by Valencia fans.

According to a study by Aláfia Lab – a laboratory that conducts research on the internet, politics and society–, of the 50 publications with the most shares that mention the attacker, 52% refer to some fact involving racism.

The publications involve both racist attacks and messages of solidarity with the player.

For Nina Santos, one of the authors of the study, this data reveals that racism still dominates the presence of black people in the virtual environment. “Instead of discussing Vini Jr.’s performance as a player, we are largely discussing how racism impacts his life”, says the researcher.

The report, entitled “Racism Doesn’t Walk Alone: ​​The Dimensions of Racism in the Networks”, analyzed mentions and comments related to profiles of black personalities on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube from January 1st to March 29th.

Among the 26 profiles analyzed, Vini Jr. was the most cited in the period. The sample does not include the impact of the most recent case of racism suffered by the player, but covers another episode involving the striker: on January 26, opposing fans placed a doll on a bridge in Madrid simulating his hanging.

The report points out that, on that occasion, several profiles used the expression “mimimi” to state that it was not a case of racism, but of football rivalry. On the other hand, other users used the hashtag #BailaViniJr (“Dance, Vini Jr.”, in Spanish) to express solidarity with the player.

“Racism is dominating all conversations about black celebrities”, says researcher Nina Santos. She assesses that this dynamic is very harmful for black people, as in addition to needing to reaffirm their professional skills, they have to defend themselves against racism at all times.