Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: MARIA LARISSA DENNYFHER DE MOURA CABRAL

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : MARIA LARISSA DENNYFHER DE MOURA CABRAL
DATE: 09/09/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Remoto
TITLE:

Political Economy of Digital Influence in Brazil and Canada

KEY WORDS:

Media Studies; Political Economy of Communication; digital influence; platform work; Brazil and Canada.

PAGES: 110
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Ciência Política
SUMMARY:

What does a comparison between Brazil and Canada reveal about the power relations that structure digital influence? Grounded in the Political Economy of Communication, this thesis investigates digital influence as an ecosystem of work, intermediation, governance, and value production organized by digital platforms. It begins with the tension between the representation of influencers as autonomous and entrepreneurial subjects and their dependence on private infrastructures that control circulation, visibility, measurement, and monetization. The research seeks to understand how the relationships between platforms, influencers, brands, intermediaries, public institutions, and audiences are organized in both countries, as well as what asymmetries of power, work, and value appropriation emerge from this comparison. Using a qualitative, exploratory, critical, and comparative approach, the study articulates theoretical review, document analysis, and a comparative case study. To answer the research question, the thesis develops the Analytical Model of the Platformized Digital Influencer. As a theoretical contribution, it also proposes the concept of the platformized digital influencer, understood as a communication worker whose activity articulates cultural production, audience building, commodification of identity, and structural dependence on platforms. It is expected to demonstrate that Brazil and Canada share transnational infrastructures, but present distinct configurations of market, intermediation, and re-regulation, conditioned by historical, economic, and institutional inequalities.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Interno - 1789369 - BRENO DA SILVA CARVALHO
Externa à Instituição - ISSAAF SANTOS KARHAWI - USP
Presidente - 1003969 - JANAINE SIBELLE FREIRES AIRES
Externa à Instituição - RAFAEL DO NASCIMENTO GROHMANN - UT