  In today's digital age, images have emerged as powerful tools for politicians
to engage with their voters on social media platforms. Visual content possesses
a unique emotional appeal that often leads to increased user engagement.
However, research on visual communication remains relatively limited,
particularly in the Global South. This study aims to bridge this gap by
employing a combination of computational methods and qualitative approach to
investigate the visual communication strategies employed in a dataset of 11,263
Instagram posts by 19 Brazilian presidential candidates in 2018 and 2022
national elections. Through two studies, we observed consistent patterns across
these candidates on their use of visual political communication. Notably, we
identify a prevalence of celebratory and positively toned images. They also
exhibit a strong sense of personalization, portraying candidates connected with
their voters on a more emotional level. Our research also uncovers unique
contextual nuances specific to the Brazilian political landscape. We note a
substantial presence of screenshots from news websites and other social media
platforms. Furthermore, text-edited images with portrayals emerge as a
prominent feature. In light of these results, we engage in a discussion
regarding the implications for the broader field of visual political
communication. This article serves as a testament to the pivotal role that
Instagram has played in shaping the narrative of two fiercely polarized
Brazilian elections, casting a revealing light on the ever-evolving dynamics of
visual political communication in the digital age. Finally, we propose avenues
for future research in the realm of visual political communication.
