A Sticker is Worth a Thousand Words: Characterizing the Use of Stickers in WhatsApp Political Groups in Brazil

TL;DR

This study analyzes how stickers are used in WhatsApp political groups in Brazil, revealing their role beyond humor as a strategic communication tool in political discussions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of sticker usage in Brazilian WhatsApp political groups, highlighting their significance in political communication strategies.

Findings

Stickers are extensively used in political discussions.

They serve as a strategic tool beyond humor.

Distinctive patterns in sticker use correlate with political engagement.

Abstract

With the increasing use of smartphones, instant messaging platforms turned into important communication tools. According to WhatsApp, more than 100 billion messages are sent each day on the app. Communication on these platforms has allowed individuals to express themselves in other types of media, rather than simple text, including audio, videos, images, and stickers. Particularly, stickers are a new multimedia format that emerged with messaging apps, promoting new forms of interactions among users, especially in the Brazilian context, transcending their role as a mere form of humor to become a key element in political strategy. In this regard, we investigate how stickers are being used, unveiling unique characteristics that these media bring to WhatsApp chats and the political use of this new media format. To achieve that, we collected a large sample of messages from WhatsApp public political discussion groups in Brazil and analyzed the sticker messages shared in this context