Beatriz Buarque
LSE | Fellow of Advance HE
critical theory | interdisciplinarity
alt-right | conspiracy theories | digital politics of truth
innovative and transformative pedagogies
BEATRIZ BY BEATRIZ
I was raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and my love for Politics started in my childhood.
When I was 6 years old, I used to ask people for whom they would vote in the upcoming elections and, trust me,
I used to question their choices.
Curiosity and a strong sense of social justice have, firstly, influenced me to pursue a career in Journalism.
Ten years later, they brought me back to academia. At this time, aiming at exploring the ways in which digital media intersects with issues of race, gender, culture, and power.
In Brazil, we usually say that Brazilians are essentially mixed race. Each Brazilian is the product of centuries of ethnic and racial encounters. Brazilians are also well-known for their resilience. No matter how hard life can be,
they don't lose hope. The diversity and resilience that constitute the hallmark of Brazilian culture have influenced in a decisive way my research expertise, my teaching style, and my ability to move between academia and industry.
Beatriz by Beatriz?
Some acceptable definitions would be: I am an expert on the ways social understandings of truth have been exploited on the internet to advance a racist, xenophobic, and sexist agenda. I am a lecturer committed to inclusive and creative teaching practices. I am a researcher and lecturer who have made efforts to build bridges between academia, civil society organisations, international institutions, and media companies.
I am Beatriz Buarque.
Highlights
September 2019 - Now
Doctoral researcher - Politics
(University of Manchester)
I am investigating how and why alt-right conspiracy theories have been legitimised in online spaces.
My main argument is that conspiracy theories conveying the belief that an idealised white/western identity is under attack have been legitimised through authoritative performance and visibility due to an affective dynamics that has prompted individuals to constitute themselves as intellectuals and truth seekers while also engaging in collaborative authorship.
Now
LSE100 Fellow
February - June 2023
GTA Trust and Security
(online - University of Manchester)
September 2022 - July 2023
GTA World Politics since 1945
(King's College London)
January 2022 - June 2023
January 2022 - June 2022
GTA / Lecturer Conspiracy Theories and Democracy
(King's College London)
September 2022 - January 2023
GTA Questions about International Politics
(University of Manchester)
September 2021 - January 2022
Lecturer MA Digital Culture and Society
(King's College London)
September 2020 - January 2021
GTA International Relations and Politics
(University of Manchester)
May 2021 - August 2023
Digital Assistant
(Review of International Studies)
October 2018 - January 2022
Founder and CEO
(Words Heal the World)
Projects
MAFTI is an international group of scholars set up by me in April/2021
to map far-right media outlets, think tanks, and political schools
while examining the content produced by them.
Currently, I am in charge of examining the far-right "truth" industry in the UK as well as coordinating a team of six scholars who are covering the industry in Brazil, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, and
United States.
During the mapping exercise, we aim at identifying: links between the observed institutions and political parties; discursive strategies; geographical and social network trends.
Publications
Articles
Buarque, B. (under review) 'Staging a dialogue between Autonomist Marxists and Post-Marxists: the case of the alt-right multitude'.
Buarque, B. (2022) 'Is it conspiracy or "truth"? Examining the legitimation of the 5G conspiracy theory during the Covid19 Pandemic', Social Epistemology.
Allington, D., Buarque, B. L., and Barker Flores, D. (2021) ‘Antisemitic conspiracy fantasy in the age of digital media: Three ‘conspiracy theorists’ and their YouTube audiences’, Language and Literature.
Buarque, B. (2018). 'From the battlefield to the ideological war: the story of a foreign fighter who nowadays prevents radicalisation'. Malala.
Buarque, B. (2016). 'The violence against Yezidi women: the Islamic State´s sexual slavery system'. Malala.
Book review
Buarque, B. (2022) 'The politics of fear: the shameless normalization of far-right discourses', Critical Discourse Studies.
Buarque, B. (2021) 'Reactionary democracy: how racism and the populist far right became mainstream', International Affairs.
Book chapters
Buarque, B. and Zavershinskaia, P. (2022). The Far-Right Politics of ‘Truth’: an exploratory analysis of the ‘truths’ produced by AfD Kompakt and Patriotic Alternative. In Alfonso Bruno, V. (ed) Populism and Far-Right: trends in Europe. Milano: Polidemos. https://www.polidemos.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ebook-AA.VV_.-Populism-and-Far-Right-2022-9788893350679.pdf
Buarque, B. (2019). Breaking the vicious circle in the age of spectacle terrorism: the Words Heal the World project. In Piazza, G. (eds.) Global Crisis: Local Voices. London: IJOPEC.
Buarque, B. (2018). Counter Extremism Project: a informação a serviço da paz. In Victor, C., Goktepe, M., Chiachiri, R., Elemen, Y. (eds.) Posições diante do terrorismo: religiões-intelectuais-mídias. São Paulo: Labrador.
Blogs
Buarque, B. (March 21st, 2022). Why some far-right circles are contributing to Vladimir Putin's disinformation campaign. GNET Insights.
Buarque, B. (March 03rd, 2022). Is it true? Is it fake news? Is it a conspiracy theory? A look inside the Ukrainian information war. Political Perspectives.
Buarque, B., Zavershinskaia, P., Scopelliti, A., Thomin, A. (November 10th, 2021). The banality of hate: how the far right legitimizes discrimination through images. CARR Insights.
Buarque, B. (September 2nd, 2021). Red Or Black Pill: How The Far-Right Appropriated The Matrix Metaphor. CARR Insights.
Buarque, B. (March 3rd, 2021). How Brazil's far-right 'active' knowledge industry supports Jair Bolsonaro. Open Democracy.
Buarque, B. (April 17, 2020). An anti-Semitic wave may hit the world in the aftermath of the pandemic. Open Democracy.
Reports
Words Heal the World (2020). The Hate Map of Brazil.
Words Heal the World (2019). The Hate Map of Brazil.
Events / Other activities
Consultancy
10/2020 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback
on Facebook's policy against misinformation
08/2019 - Facebook Policy Initiative: providing feedback
on Facebook's policy against hate speech
Paid Talks
27/07/2021 - The Future of Online debate: event organised
by Facebook and the cultural strategy agency Flamingo
Workshops
07/04/2021: (POR) "Um olhar sobre a ascensão
da direita radical no século XXI" (A look at the
rise of the far-right in the 21st Century),
University of Brasilia (UnB - Brazil).
Available at: https://bit.ly/3rdau1M
Reviewer
Reviewed articles for: Ethnic and Racial Studies
Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review
Awards
I have been awarded Fellow of Advance HE in June/2021, confirming my commitment to excellence in teaching and learning while incorporating my research within academic practices
I received £27,910 from the prestigious scholarship programme FCDO Chevening to complete my Masters in the UK in 2017
I was awarded the Transcendence Award on behalf of Words Heal the World for our efforts to empower young people to challenge hate speech in 2019
I am the recipient of the prestigious studentship offered by the Politics Department of the University of Manchester to investigate the legitimatisation of alt-right conspiracy theories in online spaces
The Luxembourg Peace Prize, an initiative from the Schengen Peace Foundation, recognized the efforts made by Words Heal the World to promote peace in 2020
Fellowship of Advance HIgher Education (FHEA)
ACADEMIC: FCDO CHEVENING
(United Kingdom)
TRANSCENDENCE AWARD
Michigan State University (USA)
ACADEMIC: UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
(United Kingdom)
LUXEMBOURG PEACE PRIZE
(Luxembourg)
News
2022:
TECH Against Terrorism - Episode 5: Tracking violent far-right behaviour online:
https://podcast.techagainstterrorism.org/1684819/10252501
CARR Right Rising Podcast: Understanding the Alt-Right
2021:
2020:
https://www.chevening.org/news/words-really-can-heal-the-world/
https://soundcloud.com/user-951209983-279640904/tt20-episode
2019:
2018:
https://www.greylockglass.com/2018/10/29/catharsis-1-beatriz-buarque-bolsonaro-victory/