Hyperpartisanship, Disinformation and Political Conversations on Twitter: The Brazilian Presidential Election of 2018

• DOI: 10.1609/icwsm.v14i1.7324
• Publication Date: 2022-11-01T18:46:46Z
• Authors: Raquel Recuero; Felipe Bonow Soares; Anatoliy Gruzd
• Keywords: Disinformation; Presidential election

This paper examines the role of hyperpartisanship and polarization on Twitter during 2018 Brazilian Presidential Election. Based a mixed-methods approach, we collected analyzed dataset over 8 million tweets about Jair Bolsonaro, far-right candidate from Social Liberty Party. Our results show that there is strong connection between polarization, disinformation. As centrality hyperpartisan outlets grew, more traditional media became less central conversations polarized. We also confirmed often shared disinformation or biased information, presented as “truth-telling” alternative to journalistic outlets. And while was frequently observed in group, it present anti-Bolsonaro cluster, especially towards runoff period.