The public and the private of Thompson in pandemic times: reflections on the research DATAFOLHA

Abstract

This work proposes a reflection on visibility and control, taking as reference two seminal authors: Thompson and Foucault. The context for analysis is in an interview, conducted by the Instituto de Pesquisa Datafolha (2020) - with 1511 adult Brazilians, through cell phones, respecting the geographical geographical distribution - in which the interviewees' degree of knowledge about the pandemic was asked of COVID-19. The objective is to verify the impact of information about the pandemic and its respective vehicles and the way they articulate in search of credibility. The methodological procedure is to analyze the research and contextualize the writings of Thompson and Foucault in search of a unified view on which were the vehicles that gained in the credibility of the news and those that lost. The result points to a breakdown of narratives within digital media (WhatsApp, Twitter, among others), the hegemonic space of Fakes News, and the preponderance of traditional media.