On August 6, 2025, the YouTuber Felipe Bressanin Pereira, known as “Felca”, posted a video called “Adultização” on his channel, exposing the reality of premature adulthood on social media. Following national repercussions, the topic was brought to the Brazilian Congress and investigated by the Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito (CPI) against child exploitation on social media.
Given the nationwide repercussions, and the debate initiated by the video’s publication, the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STF) took appropriate actions, and tabled more than 30 possible laws addressing the protection of minors on the internet.
What does it take to become relevant?
Very few people question the safety of children and youth as a whole. However, what shapes a topic as relevant enough to be debated at national level and implemented in the Brazilian legislature?
A video posted by Federal Deputy Nikolas Ferreira in April 2025, advocates for the approval of an amnesty law for those arrested and convicted of the acts of vandalism in January 8, 2023 in Brasília, calling the attention of authorities and his followers for help in a detailed plenary investigation in the case. The strategy, based on unfair comparisons, relies on shallow arguments and seeks the popularization amongst a group of people sustained by disinformation.
Another recent case was the institution of the CPI das Bets investigative inquiry into the Brazilian congress, which began in November 2024, and consisted on investigating the growing influence of virtual online betting games.
Potentialized by big names on social media, such as the influencer Virgínia, who has more than 50 million followers on Instagram and was summoned to testify against accusations of irregularities due to irresponsibly disclosed unsafe and dishonest betting platforms, accused of manipulating results and blackmailing users, affecting entire monetary family structures.
The “Reels” rule the world
When a few minutes long video may alter the result, for example, of an election, or the concept of real journalism gets mistaken as “what has more thousands of views is more reliable”, you know that the capacity of dictating what is good or bad for someone has surpassed a breaking point.
In an extremely polarized society, there are very few instances where unity and commotion over a single issue take on real proportions for everyone and have a useful effect in a giant country like Brazil. The dissemination of misinformation and the abuse of platforms with large followings contribute to the “herd behavior”, which rules the internet and, as a consequence, the opinions and actions of many Brazilians today.
The fine line between politics and social media has been diminished everyday, and when awareness and attention are brought to the right place, the access to an issue shows the widespread power held by the millions of users of these “virtual windows”, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of today’s society.
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The article below was edited by Eloá Costa.
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