Contracampo

In recent years, Brazil has faced significant challenges exacerbated by the spread of disinformation. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities struggled to gain public support for basic preventative measures, such as mask-wearing. This resistance was partly fueled by widespread misinformation about the virus on platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. Furthermore, despite Brazil's historically strong support for vaccinations, the dissemination of false information campaigns led to a noticeable decline in vaccine uptake. On January 8, 2023, Brazil witnessed the violent invasion of its executive, legislative, and judicial buildings by far-right extremists. This act was aimed at undermining the democratic process and was precipitated by months of encampments outside army headquarters, where participants were stirred by conspiracy theories and unfounded claims of electoral fraud circulated via digital platforms. In May 2024, disinformation posed a significant obstacle to emergency responses during the climate catastrophe that struck Rio Grande do Sul in Southern Brazil. Misleading content spread on WhatsApp often contradicted official sources, complicating efforts to inform the public accurately. Given these contexts, the central question arises: What are the research agendas at the intersection of Communication, Disinformation, and Sovereignty?

The Contracampo Journal, hosted by the Post-Graduate Program in Communication at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), invites scholars to contribute to the upcoming dossier titled "Disinformation, Platforms, and Digital Sovereignty." This dossier aims to explore disinformation as a multifaceted phenomenon that not only involves the production of pseudo-journalistic false content (commonly referred to as 'fake news') but also encompasses complex operations influencing electoral contexts. We are particularly interested in submissions that address the challenges posed by social media platforms in disseminating disinformation, with a special focus on the concept of sovereignty. The discussion on disinformation and digital platforms is integral to understanding how these issues affect states, institutions, and democratic regimes themselves.

In light of these concerns, we welcome theoretical and empirical contributions that examine one or more of the following topics:

• What is the phenomenon of disinformation on platforms, how is it constituted, and how can it be understood;
• How disinformation on digital platforms affects issues related to sovereignty;
• Structure of disinformation on platforms: forms, types, elements; Governance of digital platforms and content moderation;
• Effects of disinformation on platforms; Modes of circulation of disinformation on platforms, influence operations, and propaganda;
• Funding, campaigns, and disinformation on digital platforms;
• Strategies to fight disinformation on digital platforms, experiences, and cases;
• Work and disinformation on digital platforms;
• Algorithms and disinformation on digital platforms;
• Datafication, disinformation, and digital sovereignty;
• Algorithms and digital sovereignty;
• Disinformation and democracy;
• Disinformation and violence on digital platforms;
• Disinformation and democracy on digital platforms;
• Disinformation and public health on digital platforms;
• Disinformation and regulation of digital platforms;
• Disinformation and climate change;
• Comparative case studies of disinformation in the global south;
• Research methods in disinformation on digital platforms;
• Ethics, research, and disinformation on digital platforms.

Schedule:

CfP: June 6, 2024

Submission of abstracts: up to 1500 characters: August 9, 2024. (Abstracts can be submitted in Portuguese, English, Spanish, or French and must be submitted via the journal's website at http://periodicos.uff.br/contracampo/, selecting submission to the dossier.)

Feedback on abstracts: August 29, 2024.

Submission of full papers: By December 30, 2024. (Full papers should be between 35,000 and 50,000 characters and can be written in Portuguese, English, Spanish, or French. Via the journal's website at http://periodicos.uff.br/contracampo/, selecting submission to the dossier.)

Final article reviews: April 30, 2025.

Revised full articles: May 30, 2025.

Publication of the dossier: Second semester of 2025.