A right-wing movement deliberately hijacked a leftist protest brand by naming itself nearly identically

Evidence

In Brazilian Portuguese, “MBL” sounds nearly identical to “MPL.” This was intentional. The founding of the MBL was an attempt to enter the fray and redefine the meaning of the protests, Ostermann said. “We wanted MBL to sound similar to MPL as a form of contestation. Because we didn’t want free transportation, we wanted a free Brazil, and we had a set of proposals—like the removal of tax breaks and subsidies, the opening of markets, and more competition.” — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 419

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: Sonic brand-mimicry as semantic seizure — a group adopts a name that sounds like its rival’s to redefine a movement’s meaning — is a great device for stories about political or commercial co-option.
• XREF: Parallels the deliberate naming hijacks discussed in earlier chapters of this book (brand capture of protest symbols) and general analyses of astroturfing. — connects to: Right-wing actors mimicked leftist movement names to hijack protest meaning.; Well-funded right-wing groups borrowed leftist protest aesthetics for funded political goals — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 553; Protest form can detach from its political content as movements get appropriated — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 556 (+2 more)
• SHARE: An excellent tidbit for anyone into branding, astroturfing, or right-wing movement-building tactics.

Broader Connections

• Right-wing actors mimicked leftist movement names to hijack protest meaning. #expands (0.95)
• The MBL misappropriated the left’s protest repertoire and image #exemplifies (0.90) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 671
• Well-funded right-wing groups borrowed leftist protest aesthetics for funded political goals #expands (0.85) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 553
• Right-wing groups hijacked the 2013 protest repertoire with elite funding #corroborates (0.80) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 553
• Protest form can detach from its political content as movements get appropriated #expands (0.78) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 556