Ciberativismo & veganismo: uma análise de relações públicas acerca do movimento vegano na esfera digital

Abstract

This study has as its main theme the vegan movement and its interactions in cyberspace, stemming from its action in the public sphere that results in the organizational public relations (PR) practices. An exploratory research of a qualitative nature which, based on the relation of its themes, discusses the repercussions of the vegan movement in the digital sphere and how its actions influence public opinion and have a direct impact on organizations. It presents as its research goals, to observe the movement in defense of animals in their modality of cyberactivism; to investigate the new, contemporary social movements and their relevance to PR; and finally, to analyze the discourse of popular veganism on social media, with particular emphasis on Instagram, and through a brand case study, it points out how the accession to the movement might strengthen and consolidate one’s corporate identity, based on concepts presented by Kunsch (1997). On using bibliographic and documentary methods, it was possible to find out and understand concepts about the vegan movement, the new social movements and how their processes affect and are affected by public opinion, the practices of cyberactivism with the use of digital social medias, and the engagement of new generations and their discourse of a popular and accessible veganism. The document research allowed the analysis of the case study of the Skala Cosméticos brand, from its trajectory to its transformation process into a production that is 100% vegan and animal cruelty free, and allowed the observation of how this change, influenced by public opinion, positively impacted the way the organization was viewed by its target audiences. Therefore, bringing this matter to the PR area can be of great excellence for one’s practice, because it becomes aligned to the new paradigms of modernity and the constant need for transformation in this profession.