Política, imaginário e internet: o uso do Facebook na campanha eleitoral do presidente Bolsonaro no Rio Grande do Norte em 2018

Abstract

Technological and communication platform changes culminated in important developments towards the institutionalization of social networks as instruments of the political process. This can be evidenced from the analysis of the last presidential elections of Brazil, in 2018, when social networks were a central part of the electoral dynamics of candidates. Platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp served as mechanisms to encourage emotional mobilization and the crystallization of prejudices and preferences, in addition to the dissemination of ideas, values and proposals. Considering the election of President Jair Bolsonaro, the images mobilized on social networks by his campaign are questioned, focusing on the experience of Rio Grande do Norte state (RN). Thus, the general objective is to analyze the use of the social network Facebook by the political and electoral marketing of candidate Jair Bolsonaro, through the State Directory of the Liberal Social Party (PSL), with regard to the mobilization of images, videos and other related media to the political imagination of the right wing. The methodology comprises the theoretical discussion and empirical aspects that guide ICTs in political marketing and political imagination, using netnography. The PSL/RN Facebook page is investigated, in a determined time frame, aiming to extract reflections through a comprehensive sociology. Semi-structured interviews are used with actors linked to Jair Bolsonaro's campaign in RN. The results show that social networks, materialized in this work from Facebook, constituted an important aspect of political communication of the current president's campaign, bringing together images that were intrinsic to the fight against corruption and communism, family, religion and public safety, thus culminating in elements of the “new right” imaginary.