Vaza jato e farra das diárias: rastros das redes sociais digitais nas reportagens investigativas do The Intercept Brasil e Paraíba Já

Abstract

This work discusses the results of research on how digital traces provide evidence to be used by Investigative Journalism. It is a study that analyzes how traces on digital social networks become elements for the construction of investigative reports, based on observations on the portals The Intercept Brasil and Paraíba Já. Can a publication on a digital social network be journalistic evidence? Is it possible to base investigative reporting on online publications? What is the data crossing process to make a post an element of evidence? These and other questions guide this research, which seeks to identify forms of investigation, methods and use of digital traces to support investigative journalistic production. Our aim was to understand the new paths for investigations applied by journalists, especially in digital journalism. We started from the content analysis of the series of reports 'Vaza Jato' and 'Farra das Diárias', we identified the ways of investigating the data, with the aim of pointing out how digital traces became a means of evidence, in addition to seeking to understand the practice of using and filtering information made available on internet profiles. In order to understand the investigation process, we carried out a semi-structured interview with the team of one of the vehicles analyzed. With our results, we categorized the evidence that supported the reports, to understand how they are captured and used in journalistic productions. From this, we defend a new understanding of what we can classify as "journalistic evidence", understanding that publications on digital social networks reach the status of documents, providing a new meaning in the method of investigation, proof and production of Investigative Journalism.