RACISM ON BRAZILIAN SOCIAL: MANIFESTATIONS, DISCOUSES, AND CHALLENGES IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Racism constitutes a historical and structural phenomenon present in the formation of Brazilian society, manifesting itself in different social spheres and contributing to the maintenance of racial inequalities. In the contemporary context, the advancement of information and communication technologies has expanded the forms of social interaction, making social networks and digital media central spaces for the circulation of information and public debate. However, these environments have also come to host manifestations of discrimination and hate speech, including different forms of racism. In this context, the present study aims to analyze manifestations of racism on Brazilian social media, identifying discursive patterns, understanding their social impacts, and reflecting on the challenges of combating racism in the digital environment. The research is exploratory and descriptive in nature, adopting a qualitative approach supported by quantitative procedures. As a methodology, an interdisciplinary bibliographic review was conducted on structural racism, hate speech, and digital communication, in addition to the collection and analysis of content published on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X. The results indicate that the dynamics of social media, especially the logic of engagement and visibility, contribute to the dissemination of racist discourse, often disguised as humor or irony. It is concluded that digital racism represents a continuation of historical inequalities, requiring joint actions involving education, platform accountability, and policies to combat discrimination.