#FandomsPeloVoto (#FandomsfortheVote): Fan Activism for Youth Voter Engagement in the 2022 Brazilian Elections

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the media literacy skills at work in the content shared by fans on Twitter during the #FandomsPeloVoto (#Fandomsforthe- Vote) campaign. In a convergence culture environment, media literacy comprises five skills: curation, creation, critical understanding, participation, and collaboration. Launched in May 2022, the campaign—carried out in partnership with Mídia Ninja, the National Student Union (União Nacional dos Estudantes, UNE), and the Brazilian Union of Secondary School Students (União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas, UBES)—brought together more than 100 pop culture fandoms in Brazil to mobilize 16- to 18-year-olds to obtain a voter registration card and be eligible to vote in the 2022 elections. It can be concluded that the activism of fandoms goes beyond transposing fan culture practices into the realm of political participation, also encompassing the critical interpretation of the sociopolitical issues that were part of the action and the creative production of posts on Twitter. Accordingly, #FandomsPeloVoto has aspects of political resistance, as one of its primary objectives is the removal of President Jair Bolsonaro, leader of the far right in Brazil, from power.

Keywords

• Fan culture
• media literacy
• activism
• 2022 elections
• Brazil