Institutional delegitimation and hostility on social media in Latin America: a systematic scoping review (2021 – 2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47606/ACVEN/PH0482Keywords:
delegitimation, hostility, institutions, social media, misinformation, health, education, Latin AmericaAbstract
Social media platforms have become central arenas of symbolic dispute where narratives circulate that may erode the legitimacy of public institutions. In Latin America, these dynamics have gained particular relevance in the health and education sectors, especially in contexts marked by health crises, political controversies, and cultural disputes. The aim of this study was to map the academic evidence published between 2021 and 2025 on narratives of hostility, hate, incivility, and delegitimation directed at public health and education institutions on social media in Latin America, as well as to identify discussions related to institutional trust and legitimacy. A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, with subsequent refinements, and reported in accordance with PRISMA ScR guidelines. A total of 43 studies published in Spanish, English, and Portuguese were included, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and EBSCO. The findings reveal a strong concentration of evidence in the health sector, particularly in Brazil, and a predominance of studies focused on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, with misinformation and infodemia as the most frequent analytical frames. Institutional delegitimation is most often addressed as an embedded outcome of these processes rather than as an independently operationalized construct, highlighting conceptual, sectoral, geographic, and platform-related gaps, especially regarding TikTok and public education institutions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Carmen Inocencia Quintana del Solar , Leticia Laura Reyes Rosales, Olga Jeannette Munévar Ramírez, Guadalupe Badillo Márquez , Juvenal Gualberto Mamani Calcina, Elsa Dolores Hernández García
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