Does knowledge transform citizens? Analysis of the impact of news published on the Cariri Transparente blog

Abstract

The individual’s participation in society, ensuring that there is no violation of their rights, is related to the exercise of citizenship, so the Constitution of the Federalist Republic of Brazil, enacted in 1988, guarantees access to public data generated and maintained by the government and its instances through the Portal da Transparência (transparency portal). In this context, linked to the extension program of UFCA (Universidade Federal do Cariri), the Blog Cariri Transparente seeks to promote social control of the population of Cariri in Ceará. In this sense, as a research problem, we seek to answer: how do the news, published on the Blog Cariri Transparente, help citizens to know about government actions? As a general objective, this report aims to demonstrate the impact of news produced by Blog Cariri Transparente, since its creation in 2018, describing how citizens of the cities of Crato, Juazeiro do Norte and Barbalha can use the information to exercise citizenship and social control. Through the Blog, the information made available on the cities’ transparency portals is transformed into easy-to-understand news for the population. These are budget information on expenditures on public works and services, personnel expenses, sources of revenue, public tenders and contracts. After the news is prepared, it is revised before its publication. Thus, with more than 130 publications, the blog has more than 8,000 views and 3,100 visitors since its creation in 2018. Interest in information such as the amounts paid by the Legislative, or in relation to the increase in daily expenses in the municipalities, shows the interest of the population in the destination and application of public resources, is part of social control.