COVID AND POPULISM IN THE NEWS: how Brazilian media outlets approach the issue of populism during the pandemic

COVID E POPULISMO NO NOTICIÁRIO: como os meios de comunicação brasileiros abordam a questão do populismo durante a pandemia

COVID Y POPULISMO EN EL NOTICIERO: cómo los medios brasileños abordaron al populismo durante la pandemia

ABSTRACT

The recent rise of right-wing populism has given new momentum to the discussion about the meaning of populism around the world and the covid-19 pandemic added yet another layer to the issue. Considering the growing circulation of the term “populism” in public discourse, as well as the volatility of its meaning, this paper seeks to identify the different constructions of meaning around this phenomenon by Brazilian media during the covid-19 pandemic. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, in which we used the perspective of media framings, we examine 170 articles from 17 Brazilian media outlets published between March 1st and October 1st, 2020. The results allow us to conclude that there are circumstantial meanings of populism that were incorporated during the pandemic, especially related to an antiscientific approach.

Key words
Populism; Journalism; Covid-19; Framing analysis; Political communication