Politicizing witnessing: Testimonial user-generated content in the aftermath of Rousseff’s impeachment in Brazil

Abstract

This research presents the concept of testimonial User-Generated Content (tUGC): media content generated by ordinary citizens that witness an extraordinary event and publish it on their own channels. Rooted on the crossroads of UGC and Witnessing studies, this article provides a definition and a proposition of operationalization of tUGC in a case analysis, using two protests against former Brazilian president Rousseff’s impeachment in 2016 as case of study. Results suggest three main patterns of tUGC production, named as political, journalistic and expressive. Quantitative analysis points to a high frequency of production but to low levels of diffusion of tUGC overall in the context of the analysed case. Finally, results suggest external factors seem to have effect on general patterns of tUGC production and circulation. Discussion and further developments are offered.