From sub-celebrity to political figure: ‘Choquei’ has become a news reference on the web

Gossip profile, which ‘strikes’ when it comes to politics, prepares the World Cup and the collaboration of heavyweights: ex-ballerina Gretchen, muse of the page

At 18:58 on October 30, 50 minutes before Superior Electoral Court (TSE) officially announce Louis Ignatius Lula da Silva (PT) as the president-elect, the page ‘I shocked🇧🇷 already blocked: “URGENT: Lula is the 39th President of Brazil!”. It wasn’t official, but the profile, which specializes in celebrity gossip, produced more than 350,000 interactions on Twitter and 1 million inside Instagram🇧🇷

The fact that a celebrity gossip profile covered the second round of Elections 2022 attracted the attention of Internet users, who sometimes joked about the discrepancy in the guidelines, and sometimes really got information through the channel, which started in 2014 as a joke.

“Creating the profile is unpretentious. I remember reading an article where it was said that the Instagram it would be a trend for viral content in the future. At the time the Facebook that’s what prevailed. So, as Tim’s chip seller, I created the profile and started posting news sporadically and always using a joking and satirical tone,” she explains. Raphael Sousa28 years old, founder of the page, in an interview with Land🇧🇷

‘Shocked’ broke the bubble

The tone used in calls has taken the ‘I shocked🇧🇷 to gain space and followers on Instagram, until February 2022, when he decided to announce the start of war in ukraine🇧🇷 the profile has pierced the bubble. The decision, in fact, was not even Raphael’s, but a collaborator who saw in the matter a possibility to reach more audiences for the channel.

At the time, followers supported the coverage of ‘I shocked‘, as the mainstream print media had difficulty confirming and disseminating information on the subject. But there were also those who criticized the team’s lack of proficiency in Portuguese and lack of tact with information.

Despite that, Raffaello ensures that the balance was mostly positive. Proof of this are memes like “‘Shocked’ Correspondent from Ukraine.”

From celebrities to war, the only vetoed topic on the profile was politicsbut even that fell apart with the arrival of Elections 2022🇧🇷 In a meeting with the team of eight, Raphael realized that everyone, in addition to being attentive to the issue, was supporters of the PT candidate🇧🇷 From there, they decided to dive headlong into coverage, with a clear editorial orientation, and significantly increase engagement on the page.

The post about winning by Lulafor example, it generated 79,000 comments and 1.3 million likes Instagram🇧🇷 Al Twitterthe same content got 286,000 likes, a record engagement for the page.

According to Raphael, the profile also gained 160,000 new followers on Twitter and another 60,000 on Instagram during the second round of Presidential Elections🇧🇷

Correspondent ‘Shocked’: the future of the meme

The meme that started with the war in Ukraine continued during the elections and in the post-report period, with the occurrence of illegal blockades of federal highways carried out by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro. The image of Gretchen holding a microphone has acquired new settings, accessories, subtitles and continues to adapt to the coverage.

Contrary to what one might think, Raphael Sousa guarantees that he had nothing to do with the creation of the meme, but the repercussions were so great that the rebolado queen herself got emotional and participated in the joke. But the meme is now for real: the two have closed an advertising deal with a sandwich company to re-edit the meme, this time in a more professional way.

pic.twitter.com/CsgKMC34Tw

— Ike 📖: Game of Thrones (@KJMSJJ) November 9, 2022

Hello boss, has Choquei already confirmed this? Can we publish?

— Guilherme Guerra (@guilhrmeguerra) November 1, 2022

According to the report, the value of the campaign is “symbolic”, precisely for the enjoyment of the subjects involved and their respective followers. The campaign should be released from the second half of November.

With the end of the 2022 election, the ‘I shocked🇧🇷 and his team travel to Qatar to cover the World Cup and work on an advertising campaign with Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Afterwards, the crew will return to Brazil and head directly to Fortaleza (CE), where they will participate in the coverage of ‘Farofa da Gkay’, the influencer’s traditional birthday party.

Also, Raphael Sousa is already scheduled to attend Lula’s opening in Brasilia on January 1, 2023.

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Source: Terra

Camila

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.