Dissemination of false information concerning the Brazilian presidential electoral process of 2018: casuistic analysis and perspectives of regulation

• Grant number: 19/09604-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2019
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Cíntia Rosa Pereira de Lima
• Grantee: Maria Eduarda Sampaio de Sousa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto (FDRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The development of the Information and Communication Technologies has led to the democratization of the production, access and sharing of information on the web. However, in the midst of the excess of content available online, circulate various data manufactured with the intention of deceiving other users. Although already verified in previous periods, the new social media, added to the conjuncture of the current society, are responsible for increasing the repercussions of the phenomenon, becoming relevant its study, especially, in relation to the manipulation of information to achieve political gains, instead which interferes with the basic rights of citizens. Therefore, the objective of this work is to analyze the impacts of the dissemination of fallacious information, based on the case of the Brazilian presidential elections of 2018, identifying the circumstances in which the phenomenon is operated, through interdisciplinary techniques. In order to accomplish the objectives outlined, the case study method associated with the empirical methodology will be used, collecting data regarding the dispersion of misleading news related to the presidential elections of 2018, served on the Twitter platform, together with the capture of relevant elements of domestic and foreign legal systems, investigating possible methods of regulating the phenomenon.