The mega police operation carried out in the Penha complexes, in Rio de Janeiro, had intense repercussions on social media. A survey by Timelens, a technology and data intelligence company, released this Wednesday (29), identified 289,034 mentions of the operation between Tuesday (28) and this Wednesday.
The action, carried out on Tuesday, left at least 121 people dead, according to the Public Security Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro.
According to the analysis, 62% of users spoke in favor of the operation, 32% criticized it and 6% expressed fear or neutrality. The study covered posts on X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
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Support
Among the favorable profiles, the publications describe the operation as a “historic clean-up”, defending the police officers involved and endorsing the so-called “war on narco-terrorism”.
Users also praised Governor Cláudio Castro (PL) and reproduced his message, referring to the police officers killed in combat.
Positive mentions were concentrated on right-wing profiles and pages supporting public security forces.
Abuses
On the opposite side, 32% of posts classified the operation as a “slaughter”, blaming the state government for the high number of deaths.
Users opposing the action claimed that there were executions and deaths of innocent people, in addition to disproportionate violence against favela residents.
Other publications stated that the objective of the operation would be the “extermination of the peripheral population”, resuming the debate on public security and racial inequality in the country.
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war zones
Among posts that were neutral or alarmist in tone, users compared the scenario in Rio de Janeiro to the Gaza Strip, describing the capital of Rio de Janeiro as a city under siege and in a state of “urban war”.
Right-wing dominance
The survey shows that the right generated five times more engagement than profiles and pages associated with the left.
The most popular demonstrations included videos of police officers celebrating the operation and statements of support for tightening security policies.
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Among progressive groups, the focus of the posts was on reports of abuse, requests for an international investigation and criticism of Governor Cláudio Castro’s conduct.
