Between Sunday (2) at 7 pm and Tuesday (4) at 1 pm, we registered more than 2.5 million mentions on Twitter about the fire at the National Museum last weekend. After a high peak of mentions about the subject on Sunday night, the discussion still continues, but in a decreasing trend. The use of public funds for culture drives the debate, which includes the names of the presidential hopefuls and blames the government for the tragedy. The hashtag #lutomuseunacional (mourning for the National Museum) was used the most often (5.3% of publications). After it, the most popular hashtags were #museunacional (National Museum – 2.7%) and #lutopelamemoria (mourning for our memory – 0.3%).

Evolution of mentions about the fire at the National Museum
7pm Sep, 2 – 1pm Aug, 4

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: FGV DAPP

Among the presidential hopefuls, Jair Bolsonaro is the most associated with the tragedy at the National Museum. Users opposed to the candidate accused him of supporting the Ceiling Amendment and stating that he would close the Ministry of Culture. On the other hand, supporters of the candidate responded to these accusations with ironic comments, questioning why Bolsonaro would be to blame and not the rectory of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the PT and PMDB administrations.

Mentions to the presidential hopefuls in the debate about the fire at the National Museum
7pm Sep, 2 – 1pm Aug, 4

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: FGV DAPP

Funding cuts for culture also appear in relation to the administrations of former president Lula, the second candidate with the most mentions, again in a very polarized way.