A desordem da informação em rede: o uso de canais sociais na transparência de órgãos do Poder Executivo Federal do Brasil

Abstract

The Brazilian Public Administration has been undergoing restructuring based primarily on the strengthening of fundamental rights and freedoms, the recognition of the strategic importance of information and knowledge, and the influence of Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT). In seeking alignment with these guidelines, digital social networks have come to be integrated into the set of institutional info-communicational tools. On one hand, these platforms have provided users with greater autonomy to express ideas and share content; on the other, this freedom has enabled misuse, generating info-communicational disruptions and hindering administrative transparency. Based on the hypothesis that social networks are not being used appropriately due to their condition of disorder, this research aimed to analyze aspects of the relationship between administrative transparency mediated by digital social networks and information disorder, focusing on institutional accounts of agencies within the Brazilian Federal Executive Branch. Specifically, it sought to map, within a specific social media account, elements that amplify informational disorder; to trace disruptions in the info-communicational process caused by such elements; to identify evidence of the scope and reach of these disruptions; and to propose preventive, diagnostic, and control measures to be adopted by public entities. The research was characterized, with respect to its objectives, approach, and data collection procedures, as descriptive, quantiqualitative, and both bibliographic and documentary in nature. The research universe encompassed the network of interactions surrounding the official Instagram channel of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, with a sample of accounts and forms of interaction identified to analyze info-communicational dynamics. Data collection, conducted between October 2023 and July 2024 with the aid of CrowdTangle, generated a dataset containing information on social media engagement by the analyzed agencies, along with transcripts and images evidencing elements of disorder. The identification of disorder elements was based on the macro-categories of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation, as well as on discourse validation strategies such as authorization, moral evaluation, rationalization, and mythopoiesis. The analysis of informational disorder revealed that the regime governing digital social networks and user behavior contribute to info-communicational disruptions. When these spaces lack oversight and are affected by user misconduct, they become channels of informational disorder, worsened by a market logic that prioritizes engagement over information quality, which ultimately undermines administrative transparency. Through the mapping, tracing, and identification of evidence of info-communicational disruptions and their ramifications, materialized in a context of manipulation and disinformation, it was found that effectively addressing them requires the adoption of strategies involving users' digital and informational literacy and the accountability of those who create and disseminate information, including not only individuals but also the technology companies responsible for the platforms. It is considered that, despite the challenges, informational disorder, if properly managed, can contribute to the construction of an informational order that balances freedom of expression with the integrity of information.