PT leaders claim that the most active electoral leaders, such as federal deputy André Janones (Avante-MG), act on their own initiative. The parliamentarian, however, participates in strategic meetings and is part of the PT campaign coordination.
ADVERTISING
Experts say that the strategy, despite not leading to migration of votes in the second round, could have an impact on the number of null votes, blanks and abstentions – in other words, it is an attempt to take votes away from Bolsonaro. The scenario is different from the first round, when the method posed risks, since votes could be transferred from the target of the attacks to another candidate.
Janones is the support profile for Lula that most engaged in the freemasonry agenda on Facebook, for example, when doing a live in front of Solomon's Temple, in São Paulo. He insinuated that Bolsonaro could have made a “pact with the devil” involving his voters.
Allies of the former president, such as senator Rogério Carvalho (PT), also joined the mobilization. “Have you seen this video of Bolsonaro in the Freemasonry? Evangelical, Catholic or Freemason? I think the word is opportunism”, wrote Carvalho, with the video in the post. The play was watched by more than 64 thousand people on the senator's account alone.
ADVERTISING
“And now we know that, in addition to being a genocide, Bolsonaro is a candidate for a cannibal! It’s Hannibal Lecter, only stupid”, wrote federal deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB). The message refers to an interview by Bolsonaro with the American newspaper The New York Times, from 2016, in which the current president states that he considered eating human flesh in a supposed indigenous ritual. The piece was promoted by Lula's official campaign, but the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) banned the advertising from being shown.
Perfect
Amid attacks from allies and supporters, Lula managed to publish posts with above-average repercussions on religious topics, for example – the evangelical electorate gives more votes to Bolsonaro, according to electoral surveys. According to the newspaper's Network Monitor The State of S. Paul, the PT member increased the number of interactions (likes, comments and shares, assigning different weights) on Facebook and Instagram by 68% in the first eight days of the campaign in the second round, compared to the same pre-voting period. There was a drop on Twitter, but the amount is less significant than the gain on the other two platforms.
The engagement rate on Lula's official Instagram page went from 4% to 7,3%. The number is calculated by Torabit, the monitor's partner company, based on all interactions divided by the total number of followers on the account. On Facebook, the metric rose from 4,8% to 5,8%; and, on Twitter, it reduced from 4% to 3,3%.
ADVERTISING
Some of Lula's most popular content in the second round touches on religious issues. “Today is Saint Francis Day”, wrote the PT member on Twitter, with a prayer along with it, on October 4 – the same day that the old Freemasonry video exploded on the networks.
rocking
Data analyst Pedro Barciela said he believes that the movement regarding Freemasonry emerged spontaneously in anti-Bolsonarist accounts, not essentially from the PT, due to the absence of a “concrete political line” of the campaign in the first days after the first round. The movement was also seen as a response to Bolsonaro attacks associating Lula with Satanism.
“There was this vacuum and a feeling of agony after the result of the first round, which made anti-Bolsonaro users look for something to promote at that moment,” said Barciela. Lula's allies entered the agenda and helped expand the reach, according to him, in reaction to his gain in popularity.
ADVERTISING
Also on the 4th, a photo of Lula with Franciscans was one of the most relevant on the PT's Facebook account, with 4,8 thousand shares. On Instagram, a card arguing that “Lula is Christian” received 1,4 million likes. This content competes with photos and videos with the announcement of new allies, such as senator Simone Tebet (MDB), who came third in the election and whose electorate is coveted by Lula and Bolsonaro.
The strategy of Bolsonarists and PT members appeals to emotional factors in order to gain traction on the networks. “I would say that we have an informational guerrilla, for sure,” said Raquel Recuero, researcher at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel). “Both sides are using similar strategies to seek emotional and collective responses from people.”
Janones Factor
The deputy from Minas Gerais has played a prominent role in MMA. Lula's campaign coordinators, such as the mayor of Araraquara, Edinho Silva (PT), and former deputy Rui Falcão (PT), who share the task of commanding communication, have preached that it is not up to them to restrict Janones. According to them, the parliamentarian acts alone, as do other allies.
ADVERTISING
In practice, the protocol distance claimed by PT members does not exist. Janones is not only one of the most active voices in campaign coordination meetings when it comes to social media, but he has also become one of the most important words in decision-making at the PT leadership.
The deputy was one of those scheduled for a meeting yesterday at the headquarters of marketer Sidônio Palmeira's production company, in Vila Madalena, in São Paulo, alongside the PT president, Gleisi Hoffmann, and Edinho. It is not uncommon for themes promoted by the deputy on his social networks to be incorporated into Lula's pieces during election time, as was the case with alleged cannibalism.
(With Estadão Content)
