Contrasting Federal and State Government Communication on Facebook in Brazil: Contradictory Messages and Realities

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This chapter was published in Manufacturing Government Communication on Covid-19: A Comparative Perspective.

Drs. Medrado and Cabral employ content analysis and observation to investigate the dominant themes on the Facebook pages of Brazil’s Federal Government and of São Paulo State. They compare how economic and health issues relating to the pandemic are addressed in these two—Federal and State—levels of government. The chapter refers to notions of “uncivil society” and “necropolitics,” analyzing how these emerge in a context of accelerated neoliberal reforms. The findings demonstrate that the Federal Government focused on economic measures while there was little coverage of health issues, such as prevention, guidance, and vaccines. In contrast, the State of São Paulo had a predominance of posts about vaccination. Both campaigns were perceived as permanent campaigning strategies rather than as catering for citizens’ needs.

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