Ética, política e informação: uma reflexão conceitual sobre sociedade e comportamento (Ethics, politics, and information: a conceptual reflection on society and behaviour)

Introduction. Considering the changes that have occurred in society, from an ethical and political perspective linked to the informational aspects of production, processing, and mediation of information, we propose as our objective a conceptual reflection on society and its behavior. Method. Our methodology consists of analysing the concepts linked to society, considered as a matter of critical reflection on the way in which social conduct has been presenting changes in relation to its ethical purpose. Analysis. To this end, we ask ourselves how the use of technological devices, as well as social media, such as the internet and other networks, influence this behavior. Along with this, we point to types of knowledge production that we see emerging in research on Brazilian society, as a debate counter-productive to the legacy of colonialism, based on the notion of popular wisdom. Results. Our results are based on the hypothesis that, from the knowledge society onwards, our goal is no longer to control information as before, as was the case with the other types of society mentioned, but rather to produce information using these instruments as a source for new information, not necessarily true, fueling a post-truth society that is often not aligned with the values stipulated by the State. Conclusion. We conclude that the findings of the researchers cited throughout the work are relevant, as a valid proposal for an ethical sense for the treatment of information in Brazil. Thus, the means presented by researchers such as Rufino (2023) and Simas (2024) contribute to a popular and Brazilian notion of an ethical vision of information.