TECHNOLOGIES, DISINFORMATION AND KAFKA IN THE DIGITAL AGE
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Abstract
The manipulation of public opinion in Brazil has been intensified using deepfakes and social bots, technologies that distort information and influence electoral processes, generating distrust in democratic institutions. Inspired by the metaphors in Kafka’s works, such as The Trial and The Metamorphosis, this phenomenon reveals a society alienated and vulnerable to invisible systems of informational control. The political appropriation of religious and moral values reinforces polarization and authoritarian discourses, deepening the democratic crisis. This qualitative and empirical study, based on exploratory investigation, analyzes the impact of these technologies on Brazilian political culture, focusing on the 2018 and 2022 elections, and proposes strategies to mitigate their effects and strengthen digital democracy in the country for the 2026 elections.
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