Favela Digital Activism: The Use of Social Media to Fight Oppression and Injustice in Brazil

In this chapter, we analyze the role of favela digital activism as a tool to fight against oppression, injustice, and human rights violations in Rio de Janeiro. By studying “favela digital activism”, we refer to residents’ “us by us” philosophy in which they can become the narrators of their own stories. The methodological approaches are inspired by digital anthropology. We conducted the research in two stages, with netnographic observations in the first phase and offline ethnographic observations and interviews in the second phase. In order to offer an in-depth exploration of one successful initiative, we analyze the case study of a Facebook page called Mare Vive, created by residents of Mare, a large network of favelas in Rio de Janeiro. We argue that favela digital activism represents a distinctive urban media phenomenon, providing residents with tools for everyday survival in a context of conflict and social inequality.