Freedom of expression, without judgment is a rule-of-law in many countries. And, there is no better example than the four days of Carnival celebrated throughout the world, most notably in Brazil. Carnival is where people, spirit, and free speech meet on the streets in statements of self expression. Thanks to social media, everyone can participate in the whimsical, humorous, and passionate displays. For publishers, capturing the enthusiasm through social media is easy with the millions of available posts. However, filtering Carnival UGC (user-generated content) – discovering safe content – can be a challenge.
In Brazil, the most famous Carnival in the world, a common theme this year was protests against president Michel Temer. Temer took office following a tumultuous impeachment process, where many people felt they did not have a vote.
In addition to politics, the many cultures of Brazil were celebrated during Carnival. For instance, in Salvador, Bahia, the strong black slave heritage was observed through afro music and traditional clothes. In Rio de Janeiro, the king of rhythm was Samba.
As experienced every year, Carnival builds and celebrates community for more than just 4 out of 365 days. Tourists came from around the world to join the revelry. Planning and creating the giant mythical floats and a fantastical parades involve communities year-round as depicted in the following Facebook post:
The people of Olinda, Pernambuco, UNESCO’S World Cultural Heritage city, celebrate as well. In Olinda important personalities and characters take center stage. The party is open to everyone, regardless of their political and personal beliefs.
Social media is prevalent during Carnival, as documented by millions of posts. Trending hashtags such as #brazil, and #rio were ranked number one and two, respectively, during the 4 days.
For publishers, the ability to use social media to follow an event like Carnival provides their readers with a unique perspective. As several outlets in Brazil found, the filters in the Crowdynews platform not only captured specific posts, but also removed inappropriate content by filtering Carnival UGC. Specifically, filtering capabilities such as white- and blacklisting to keyword search as well as removing posts with foul language and nudity delivers user-generated content streams that increase reader engagement without offending. In the social stream below, we combined a Rio de Janeiro geo-location tag with an English language filter to display real-time, relevant and safe social media content.
Like Carnival, publishers are free to create using Crowdynews.
Visit Crowdynews for more information about how you can add a social media stream to your website.