Even conservative Brazilian TV hosts flipped to support street protest as viewers swung

Evidence

Television presenter José Luiz Datena is far more conservative than Folha or Estadão. He runs a sensational and very popular program denouncing crime and celebrating the police. As the events unfolded on the street, he said, “I am against riots, guys,” and then opened a poll for viewers to vote on their phones on the question “Are you in favor of this kind of protest?” Over one thousand people immediately voted “yes,” and he responded, surprised, “So far … the majority are in favor … I would vote no, I would vote no… . OK, is it possible that we formulated the question incorrectly?” And then he launched a new poll: “Are you in favor of protests with rioting?” Over two thousand of his viewers voted “yes,” against less than nine hundred for “no,” to which he responded, “Well, the people are so pissed off that they support any protest, as far as I can tell. OK.” The monitor behind him continued to transmit images of the streets, and Datena quickly changed his tune. Now the protest was “a show of democracy.” — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 394

Categorization

• XREF: Shows how even hostile mainstream media figures flip with perceived momentum — echoes the earlier chapters’ account of how mass protest wins over skeptics through sheer visibility. — connects to: Brazilian television coverage legitimated the protests into a mass movement. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 400; Brazilian television coverage, not social media, gave the protest movement mass legitimacy — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 400

Broader Connections

• Brazilian television coverage legitimated the protests into a mass movement. #expands (0.82) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 400
• Brazilian television coverage, not social media, gave the protest movement mass legitimacy #expands (0.78) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 400