The discussion around the issue exposed the federal government’s communication difficulties, at the same time as it strengthened the opposition on social media. The most viral video on the topic is from the deputy (PL) with more than 320 million views in just five days.
For comparison purposes, videos by Barack Obama, one of the politicians with the largest number of followers on Twitter, rarely reach 10 million views. Neither Kim Kardashian, Trump, Messi, Neymar, nor Bolsonaro had videos with the same reach. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only exception. His Instagram account has more than 647 million followers, and yet it has only surpassed Nikolas’ mark once.
Nikolas’ post found enormous resonance with the feelings of a large portion of people, and the government’s main vulnerabilities explored by the deputy are the difficulty of communication and credibility among the population.
From the beginning, the government has faced the challenge of communicating its achievements in a simple way and in formats suitable for the digital environment. Added to this is the fact that there are many people trying to promote themselves on social media by criticizing the government and its actions, which makes it even more difficult to publicize the positive points.
Last Tuesday (14), President Lula made official the change in command of the Communications Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic. Sidônio Palmeira takes on the role with the challenge of creating an updated communication strategy that takes into account the nuances of social networks. It is necessary to build a language that is capable of engaging and connecting with people.
On his social networks, Lula recorded a video wearing the Corinthians jacket to announce that there will be no taxes on Pix. The format is already different from the others in its account, but it is still far from the right’s ability to communicate on social media.
In the more than 90,000 public groups analyzed by Palver, Lula’s video circulated timidly. However, another figure on the left managed to set the tone in communication and was widely reproduced in the groups. The federal deputy’s post () was shared in left and right groups on WhatsApp. On Instagram, the video received more than 40 million views, compared to 17 million for Lula’s video.
The government’s lack of credibility was also explored in Nikolas’ video. The population’s trust serves as a shield against fake news. If there is trust, when dubious information begins to circulate, people give the benefit of the doubt and wait for updates. When there is no trust, it is as if any information is consumed without a filter, instantly awakening emotions.
In Palver’s monitoring, there are videos circulating in right-wing groups since October and whose content aims to undermine the government’s credibility by making associations with China and other dictatorships. In these videos, there is talk of monitoring digital transactions as a form of control by dictatorial governments over their population.
When the Pix topic gains prominence in the public debate, the information is distorted by the noise caused by these videos that were already circulating. When the subject is brought up, instead of the person processing it as new information, which may or may not be true, it creates resonance with a bad memory, which brings a feeling of threat and fear.
While in the short term it is important for the government to get the format and language of social networks right, in the long term what matters is building and strengthening credibility. Therefore, Minister Sidônio has the challenge of finding spokespeople who accumulate credibility among public opinion while structuring a digital communication machine.
The result of this endeavor may indicate how the government will perform in next year’s elections.
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