Citizens and their bots that sniff corruption: Using digital media to expose politicians who misuse public money

“Naming and shaming” has been considered part of the strategies of many regulatory and anti-corruption agencies and international organizations. In the paper "Citizens and their bots that sniff corruption: Using digital media to expose politicians who misuse public money", Fernanda Odilla and Clarissa dos Santos Veloso, from the BIT-ACT research team explore the main constraints affecting and benefits of anti-corruption grassroots initiatives that pursue this more confrontational strategy by exposing offenders and publicising their wrongdoings. The researchers do so by examining two anti-corruption bottom-up initiatives in Brazil that detect corruption through bots to audit congressional members’ expenses, and then uses social media to expose their suspicious findings.

Fernanda and Clarissa will present their findings at the 5ª conference Academia against Corruption in the Americas (ACA) on Friday May 6th at 17.45. The event will be held virtually on April 29, May 6, and May 13, 2022. As the title suggests, this is an international, interdisciplinary forum for the academic anti-corruption community to share research results and teaching experiences.

Register here

Access to the full programme: https://www.transparenciayanticorrupcion.mx/aca