Bolsonarists live in a climate of desolation in messaging applications

From euphoria to desolation, the mood of the enthusiasts of the so-called “revolt of the fools” changed after the arrest of the extremists rioting against Congress, the Planalto Palace and the headquarters of the Federal Court (Stf). Feelings of frustration, fear, and tension hover over groups and messaging app channels. There are users who could only regret the outcome of the coup in Brasilia.

The vandalism of last Sunday, 8, had as its motto a speech by Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the STF: “Lost, mané”. The statement was released in New York, when the magistrate was approached by a supporter of Jair Bolsonaro, the candidate defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Since the elections, in the streets, on social networks and on platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, the Bolsonarists have questioned the victory of the PT.

The report of Stage accompanied the frenetic exchange of messages in two groups on WhatsApp – one of which was confidential – and 15 on Telegram. “What a mixture of feelings. I feel anger, sadness, disappointment. It’s like being in mourning and not knowing when it will end. I feel sorry for the good people who are there (incarcerated) and the bad people out there.” said a member of the Peladeiros 1 group. There are also reports of disillusionment: “The army is abandoning us once again.”

The group, which is closed, was once called Joinville Resistance. After the arrest of the extremists in Brasilia, dozens of them changed their names, their messages were deleted and their members disbanded. “We are on the verge of madness. We have entered the era of fear,” said a user of Peladeiros 1, a group particularly affected by the police action: the organizer and administrator, the Bolsonarista influencer Eduardo Gadotti Murara, from Joinville (SC), was arrested and is being arrested in Brasilia.

Paranoia

Since then the paranoia has been circulating among users. There is a constant fear that Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, will read the messages – a feeling replicated in groups, both on WhatsApp and Telegram. Moraes gave the order to arrest protesters in the act, end encampments in front of military installations, arrest Anderson Torres – former Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District and former Bolsonaro Minister of Justice – and dismiss Governor Ibaneis Rocha ( MDB ).

On Instagram, Murara owns a page where she went “live” on the field routine at the army headquarters in Brasilia. In your posts you called on supporters of the former president to follow the protests in the federal capital and also in their own cities.

In the first days of January, the influencer called a “party” – a code used by Bolsonarists on digital platforms for protests, the “Selma party”. It was the gesture of Brasilia. People from Santa Catarina who could not travel to the federal capital were advised to look for a camp in the Florianópolis barracks. Murara broadcast live the invasion of public buildings in Praça dos Três Poderes.

Reaction

In the WhatsApp group, the reaction after the security forces regained control of the situation was immediate. All messages sent on Sunday have been deleted. Green to yellow gave way to the image of a soccer ball.

“I’m worried about Eduardo. There was no trace,” said a user in the early hours of Tuesday 10. In the afternoon of the same day a user asked if Murara had been arrested. A person who maintains contact with the Bolsonarista influencer confirmed the information, which caused turmoil among members. Then a dozen messages were deleted.

Others resisted. “This group could be monitored to encourage people to say things. We later received a lawsuit. People on the left have blood in their eyes. Ideally, the group would be dissolved. At least that,” said one user. “Guys, you have to avoid saying certain things here. Maybe Eduardo’s phone is with Xandão (nickname given to Moraes),” replied another user.

Sadness

Sadness dominated the Bolsonarists. “I’ve already cried so much today. People don’t deserve it,” said one member of the group. “The saddest thing is this helplessness we feel. It hurts,” wrote another.

On Thursday 12, Murara’s name appears in the official list of those arrested for vandalism by the Federal Police. “Eduardo fought so hard for us and is now in prison as a criminal. What a shame for him, folks,” said a member of the group after receiving confirmation of his arrest. “It’s very difficult for anyone who has gone to the penitentiary to get out,” said another. The report did not single out the influencer’s defense.

Reports are repeated in Telegram groups. “So sad. Corrupt politicians in power and people well incarcerated. A shame for Brazil,” posted one user.

The temperature rises with the growing presence of alleged PT supporters infiltrating groups to provoke the Bolsonarists: “Are you afraid of Xandão?” asked one member, who switched his profile photo to that of Moraes. Dozens of users then exchanged insults with each other.

Dissociation from reality

In Bolsonarist groups it is believed that the violent acts were caused by the action of “infiltrators”. For Patrícia Rossini, a researcher at the University of Glasgow in the UK, there is a “dissociation from reality”. “For some people, there’s a dissociation between them and the people who committed the violent acts. They don’t see themselves as part or collaborators in that vandalism movement,” she said.

This dystopia, said João Guilherme dos Santos, a data analyst at Rooted in Trust Brazil and a researcher at the National Institute of Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD), is due to the fact that such a large Bolsonarista network has formed on various platforms with which users have lost touch with the contradictory. “We can’t assume these people saw the same thing that we saw. There’s a social confirmation network for the stuff they access. There’s their news programs, their scientists,” he said.

According to Santos, networks feed distorted information such as real beliefs. This denial is reflected in fields such as politics and science, said the researcher. “My goodness. They are stinging people with poison. So much cruelty,” said one user of the fact that inmates are vaccinated against covid when they enter the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, where the men are held, or in Colmeia where is the women.

+The best content in your email for free. Choose your favorite Terra newsletter. Click here!

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.