By Glenda Dantas

Almost two years after the attacks that put Brazilian democracy to the test, January 8, 2023, remains contested not only in the courts, but also in the construction of collective memory. Narratives that seek to minimize or distort that day continue to circulate on social media, amplified by prominent figures in national politics and the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence tools.

In this scenario, preserving the memory of what really happened became an urgent matter. In a technical and political effort, researchers from PUC-Rio mapped more than 500 photos, 100 videos, and thousands of publications made between October 2022 and February 2023, a visual retrospective of the far-right's actions that culminated in the attack on the headquarters of the Three Powers.

All this content is gathered in Digital Archive of January 8thThis is an academic and scientific project created to ensure that records that are currently inaccessible or have been removed remain available "for the reconstruction of events that threaten democracy in contemporary Brazil," as described on the initiative's website.

The project is developed by Condado Lab – Research Group on Communication, Data and Technology at PUC-Rio, in conjunction with INCT-DSI, the Instituto Democracia em Xeque and the Laboratory of Digital Humanities at PUC-Rio.

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