Come to the 'war cry party': How social media helped drive mayhem in Brazil

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/08/brazil-bolsanaro-twitter-facebook/
https://archive.ph/SKzdQ

Come to the ‘war cry party’: How social media helped drive mayhem in Brazil
Researchers detected a surge in aggressive rhetoric from election denialists in far-right channels online ahead of Sunday’s rioting
By Elizabeth Dwoskin
Updated January 9, 2023 at 1:42 a.m. EST


Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro clash with police during a protest outside the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Sunday. (Eraldo Peres/AP)

In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s violent attacks on Brazil’s Congress and other government buildings, the country’s social media channels surged with calls to attack gas stations, refineries and other infrastructure, as well as for people to come to a “war cry party” in the capital, according to Brazilian social media researchers.

Online influencers who deny the results of the country’s recent presidential election used a particular phrase to summon “patriots” to what they called a “Festa da Selma” — tweaking the word “selva,” a military term for war cry, by substituting an “m” for the “v” in hopes of avoiding detection from Brazilian authorities, who have wide latitude to arrest people for “anti-democratic” postings online. “Festa” is the Portuguese word for “party.”

Organizers on Telegram posted dates, times and routes for “Liberty Caravans” that would pick people up in at least six Brazilian states and ferry them to the party, according to posts viewed by The Washington Post. One post said: “Attention Patriots! We are organizing for a thousand buses. We need 2 million people in Brasília.”

That online activism culminated in busloads of people landing in the capital Sunday, where they stormed and vandalized three major government buildings, reportedly setting fires and stealing weapons in the most significant assault on the country’s democratic institutions since a military coup in 1964.

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