Polêmicas como fator de engajamento: como os políticos no Facebook mobilizaram os usuários em 2018

Abstract

This dissertation has as its object of analysis the understanding of the concept of controversy aimed at social networks and to understand to what extent being a celebrity in the digital sphere is a way of engaging users. To this end, digital speeches published on Facebook by the pages of political leaders during the pre-campaign period of the 2018 presidential election in Brazil are used. Given the political scenario of 2018, where in addition to observing a marked political polarization in society, there was an intense use of the internet and social networks during the election and before it, which refers to the importance of understanding the mechanisms of social promotion of the platform with the highest number of users in Brazil, Facebook. Thus, this dissertation seeks to answer what is the mechanism behind the search for visibility in social networks? Analyzing the behavior of political leaders on Facebook is important as, in addition to the large number of users who engage in the platform, communication takes place directly between the politician and the user, there is an accuracy in the reach of messages to groups or like-minded profiles and values effective and personalized communication with each individual, based on spontaneity and authenticity in communication. These factors make the digital network a relevant aspect to understand citizens' preferences and behavior linked to attitudes that engage users in the content of political leaders, whether or not endorsing their speeches and positions. In this endeavor, to understand how social feedback metrics (e.g. engagement) reflect on the endorsement that politicians receive by the public, this dissertation argues that in the digital age, the visibility achieved by celebrities translates into the engagement that digital content receives. However, there are two contributions that this work seeks to achieve, the first being a theoretical contribution with the formulation of a framework that clarifies the mechanism of the search for visibility in social networks for politicians. In it, they understood that being a celebrity is an effective way to engage and influence people, and the way politicians achieve celebrity status is through the use of polemics. In this way, controversy is the mechanism by which politicians emulate the behavior of celebrities to become one, it is not enough to look and act as such, it is necessary to be. Thus, it is possible to answer what makes the controversy so important on Facebook and why it is the mechanism that explains the best performance of publications. And, a second practical contribution, analyzes the data of Facebook posts from the perspective of the controversy and, the results, show that in addition to the controversy promoting greater engagement in the posts, Jair Bolsonaro was the leader who most used the resource during the pre-campaign.