Author:

Maíra Moraes Vitorino

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to understand, through the Critical Discourse Analysis, how the concept of fake news is being constructed by the national powers since the context in which the narratives about democracy and elections are the support of the discourses that justify the necessity to create devices like mapping techniques, legislation and punishments for the control of fake news. The material analyzed is the representatives’ speeches of the National Congress, the Superior Electoral Court and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, on the opening ceremony of the “Fake News and Democracy Seminar”, held by the National Communication Council. Working with three axes of analysis – (1) definition, (1) impact and (3) proposal of action – on fake news, we identified that despite the consensus about the relevance of the theme and the need for control, there is no a clear definition of what fake news is or what they intend to control.