De la propaganda al cibercontrol afectivo: Cien años de poder comunicacional y modulación algorítmica en América Latina (1926–2024)
Journal
Chasqui. Revista Latinoamericana de Comunicación
ISSN
1390-924X
Publisher
Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina
Date Issued
2026
Type
text::Non-primary product
Abstract
Este artículo analiza la transformación del poder comunicacional desde las técnicas de propaganda estudiadas por Harold Lasswell en 1926 hasta las formas contemporáneas de cibercontrol afectivo propias de los ecosistemas digitales latinoamericanos. A partir de un enfoque teórico-crítico que dialoga con Mills, Habermas, Castells, Mattelart y con el pensamiento comunicacional latinoamericano, se examina cómo estas mutaciones se manifiestan en México entre 2018 y 2024, un periodo marcado por polarización, operaciones coordinadas, desinformación y violencia política digital de género. El artículo propone el concepto de cibercontrol afectivo para explicar nuevas modalidades de modulación algorítmica basadas en la extracción de datos, la personalización de contenidos y la activación emocional que estructura la visibilidad en plataformas. El análisis empírico, sustentado en investigación documental, análisis crítico del discurso y netnografía, muestra que estas dinámicas reajustan la esfera pública y plantean desafíos sustantivos para la deliberación democrática en América Latina. Se concluye que la transición de la propaganda al cibercontrol afectivo expresa un cambio estructural en la relación entre comunicación, afectos y poder. © Las autoras © Chasqui. Revista Latinoamericana de Comunicación © Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina.
This article proposes the concept of affective cybercontrol to analyze the convergence of political intervention strategies, data extraction, platform architectures, and the activation of affects in contemporary digital environments. It is based on a documentary-conceptual analysis of 34 foundational and recent works on propaganda, the public sphere, mediations, platform capitalism, algorithmic governance, digital affectivity, and data dependency, with particular attention to scholarship and debates on communication and platforms in Latin America. Drawing on this corpus, the article examines the analytical limitations of widely used concepts—such as propaganda, psychopolitics, affective publics, and platform governance—for explaining recent transformations in communicative power in an integrated manner. Its main contribution is the formulation of a relational definition of affective cybercontrol and the development of an operationalization matrix that translates the concept into analytical dimensions, observable indicators, and criteria for future situated empirical research. The article argues that affective cybercontrol refers to a contingent capacity to modulate public circulation through the articulation of communicative strategies, datafication processes, algorithmic visibility, and affective repertoires. Rather than describing a form of total control or presuming causal effects on audiences, the concept provides an analytical framework for examining the relationship between platforms, power, and sociotechnical inequalities in Latin America. © The authors © Chasqui. Revista Latinoamericana de Comunicación © Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina.
This article proposes the concept of affective cybercontrol to analyze the convergence of political intervention strategies, data extraction, platform architectures, and the activation of affects in contemporary digital environments. It is based on a documentary-conceptual analysis of 34 foundational and recent works on propaganda, the public sphere, mediations, platform capitalism, algorithmic governance, digital affectivity, and data dependency, with particular attention to scholarship and debates on communication and platforms in Latin America. Drawing on this corpus, the article examines the analytical limitations of widely used concepts—such as propaganda, psychopolitics, affective publics, and platform governance—for explaining recent transformations in communicative power in an integrated manner. Its main contribution is the formulation of a relational definition of affective cybercontrol and the development of an operationalization matrix that translates the concept into analytical dimensions, observable indicators, and criteria for future situated empirical research. The article argues that affective cybercontrol refers to a contingent capacity to modulate public circulation through the articulation of communicative strategies, datafication processes, algorithmic visibility, and affective repertoires. Rather than describing a form of total control or presuming causal effects on audiences, the concept provides an analytical framework for examining the relationship between platforms, power, and sociotechnical inequalities in Latin America. © The authors © Chasqui. Revista Latinoamericana de Comunicación © Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina.
License
Acceso Abierto
How to cite
Romero-Delgado, C. I., Camacho-Gómez, M. del C., & Zamorano-Rojas, A. D. (2026). De la propaganda al cibercontrol afectivo: Cien años de poder comunicacional y modulación algorítmica en América Latina (1926–2024). Chasqui. Revista Latinoamericana De Comunicación, 1(162). https://doi.org/10.16921/chasqui.v1i162.5261