Using misinformation as a political weapon: COVID-19 and Bolsonaro in Brazil

Abstract

With over 30,000 confirmed cases, Brazil is currently the country most affected by COVID-19 in Latin America, and ranked 12th worldwide (John Hopkins University & Medicine, 2020). Despite all evidence, a strong rhetoric undermining risks associated to COVID-19 has been endorsed at the highest levels of the Brazilian government, making President Jair Bolsonaro the leader of the “coronavirus-denial movement” (Friedman, 2020. To support this strategy, different forms of misinformation and disinformation2 have been leveraged to lead a dangerous crusade against scientific and evidence-based recommendations (Ireton & Posetti, 2018).