Vigilância civil e internet: possibilidades e limitações na disputa por visibilidade e na construção de credibilidade

Abstract

Based on the remarkable increase of civil surveillance initiatives focused on public and private business in the last decades – as observatories and other watchdog sites – and considering the benefits offered by the Internet to these practices, the article focuses on two crucial points: the competition for visibility and the need to build credibility. Adopting an analytical perspective that go beyond the initial enthusiasm of the civic and democratic potential linked with this social phenomenon, the article observe the following obstacles: the thematic specialization of these initiatives, the risk of restriction to like-minded circles, and the relationship with the traditional media in search of expanded visibility. Furthermore, it addresses aspects of the reflexive and complex relationship between credibility and visibility on the internet and the challenges of building an image of independence and of actions oriented by public interest as a factor of credibility and reliability.