Fake News: uma análise da influência da desinformação frente às eleições presidenciais brasileiras de 2022

Abstract

Amid a turbulent scenario of disinformation, where the integrity of the electoral process, the trustworthiness of candidates and the credibility of institutions were put to the test, the 2022 presidential elections in Brazil have become a fertile field for the proliferation of fake news. This election, in particular, was notoriously marked by an avalanche of false information, while the Electoral Court fought a herculean battle to contain the spread of misleading and harmful content to the democratic system on the Internet. Therefore, this work seeks to deepen understanding of the devastating impact that misinformation, especially in the form of fake news, had during the 2022 election period. The research focuses on the way in which this fake news, amplified by digital platforms, was skillfully used to manipulate public opinion and influence the vote, distorting reality and contaminating the political debate. It is based on the premise that the massive dissemination of this untrue information has profoundly shaken the electoral process, compromising voters' perception of the fairness of the electoral system and eroding confidence in the democratic institutions that support the Rule of Law. The main objective of this study is to investigate the consequences of this misinformation, analyzing how it influenced the formation of public opinion and what the reverberations of this phenomenon were. Furthermore, the work examines the current legal mechanisms and the initiatives of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in combating this growing threat. To this end, a qualitative approach is adopted, anchored in a bibliographic review and deductive analysis. The study is based on the analysis of legislation, doctrines and documents that address the role of the TSE, in addition to interpreting specific events that exemplify the impact of fake news on the 2022 Brazilian electoral process.