On Facebook, the presidential hopefuls fight for visibility and seek to promote their candidacies among users. Between July 1 and August 31, the five top-ranked candidates in voting polls (Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Ciro Gomes, Geraldo Alckmin and Marina Silva) published a total of 1,533 posts. In these two months, Lula’s page made the most publications on the social networks, with a daily average of 7 posts, followed by Bolsonaro’s page with an average of 3.4.

Amount of publications per theme

Source: Facebook | Elaborated by: FGV DAPP

The publication strategies and content vary significantly in terms of the amount of posts, language used, visual aspect of the posts and themes mobilized.

Theme “campaign” leads posts published

Considering the types of posts shared, all the candidates opted for publications directly connected to the construction of their candidacies and to asking for votes and for the involvement of users. The second topic approached the most was the political agenda, with information about governmental programs and positions regarding public policies. Lula was the only case in which the agenda did not occupy the second place: the candidate preferred to make posts dialoging with other actors, especially mentioning politicians and popular figures who support him.

Amount of publications in the theme “campaign”

Source: Facebook | Elaborated by: FGV DAPP