Understand the influence of the Mynd agency and the relationship with “Choquei”

The coordinated production of content on gossip profiles on social networks has become a profitable business for influencers and advertising agencies. With profiles that total 171.4 million followers, Music2Mynd (also called Mynd) makes around R$550 million per year from marketing campaigns.

The agency's business model became an issue at the end of 2023, when the “Choquei” profile – which was once part of its network – was accused of sharing false information that would have resulted in the death of Jéssica Vitória Canedo, aged 22. He also served for the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) resurrect the discussion of the PL of fake news (2,620 of 2020).

Self-titled “largest agency specialized in influencer marketing and entertainment in Brazil”Mynd was founded in 2017 by journalist and marketer Fatima Pissarra in partnership with singer and influencer Preta Gil. Currently, around 400 influencers are part of the portfolio.

Until 2023, Preta Gil was listed on the company's website as a partner. Now, she is no longer on the list of partners or in the company's registry with the IRS, but there are still mentions of her on the website: “We were born from a team of entrepreneurs who, through the association with the singer and influencer Preta Gil, managed to build a successful path”. See one print below:

The agency represents names such as Pabllo Vittar, Bela Gil, Camilla de Lucas and Luísa Sonza.

These are some of the brands that have already advertised with Music2Mynd:

WHO IS FATIMA PISSARRA

Businesswoman Fátima Pissarra, 46 years old, has a degree in journalism, psychology and marketing. She is the author of the book Influencer Profession: How to be successful on and off the internet.

Gustavo Scatena/BuzzFeed – 9.jun.2022

Fátima Pissarra launched the book “Profissão Influencer” in 2022. Several influencers and celebrities attended, such as singer Luísa Sonza (left)

She worked in companies such as the extinct BCP, ClearO Earth and the Nokia. In 2011, he became manager of VEVO in Brazil and in 2012, with the publicist Ricardo Marques, he founded Music2! –which would become Mynd8 in 2017.

In 2023, he became CEO of Billboard Brazil, a magazine focused on music. She is also one of the partners of BuzzFeed Brazilwhich stopped operating in Brazil in 2020 and returned under his command in 2022. Pissarra defines itself as “expert in connecting brands and artists”.

On the Music2Mynd website, there are 2 other partners besides Fátima:

Among the various companies in which Fátima has a stake is the restaurant Altar Cozinha Ancestral, in São Paulo, of which singer Luísa Sonza is also a partner.

DIGITAL BANKING

One of the main responsible for Mynd's advancement in the digital environment was Digital Banking Advertising LTDA., an influencer agency. The business was registered with the Federal Revenue Service in January 2019 by Murilo Henare Uchoa Freitas, sole partner. The declared share capital is only R$1,000.

In November 2019, Henare approached Fátima Pissarra to propose a partnership. At the time, he managed a network of 17 profiles that totaled 80 million followers. At the end of 2023, the project already brought together 33 Instagram profiles (some also active on X, formerly Twitter).

Until 2022, “Choquei” was part of this list. The profile Blog Boywhich would have been the first profile to share the news of the supposed romance between the artist Whindersson Nunes and Jéssica Canedo, was on the Digital Banking list.

After the young woman's death, however, the Music2Mynd website no longer has any mention of Digital Banking. Anyone trying to access the agency's page is faced with a note in which the company says that “loves plurality and freedom of expression” and claims to be a victim of fake news and “organized and systematic hate attacks”.

WHO IS MURILO HENARE

Despite appearing in the LinkedIn as a partner at Mynd, Murilo Henare Freitas does not appear in the corporate structure. He is Fatima's partner in BuzzFeed Brazil and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of Billboard Brazil.

Now 27 years old, Murilo Henare began his digital career when he was still a teenager. He was the creator of the page Friend your crazy, which brings together memes, news from reality shows and celebrity gossip. The profile has 2.7 million followers on Instagram.

Starting in 2020, Henare began giving several interviews to media outlets about the Digital Banking business model. He is close to some of the main Brazilian influencers and artists – some with careers boosted on social media by him.

At the end of 2023, Murilo deleted all posts and highlights on his Instagram profile. He still publishes stories sporadically and has 383 thousand followers.

INFLUENCERS & LULA

On February 8, 2023, the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and First Lady Janja Lula da Silva met with digital influencers supporting her government at Palácio do Planalto. At the meeting, which was called “Influencers for Democracy”, Lula thanked those present for the work they were doing. At least 4 people managed by Music2Mynd and/or members of Digital Banking went to the meeting:

Janja's friend, the influencer Murilo Ribeiro Pereira –known on social media as “Muka”–, was not on the list of influencers to which the Power360 had access at the time, but was actively involved in Lula's campaign for President in 2022.

Agented by Music2Mynd, Pereira was hired by EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação) in September 2023 to work in a commissioned position at the state-owned company in Rio de Janeiro with remuneration of R$18,000. The appointment was published in the official diary and in an EBC ordinance. Here's the complete (PDF – 892 kB).

“CHOQUEI” & JANJA

Former member of Digital Banking, “Choquei” was created in 2014 by the photographer Raphael Souza Oliveira. He has 7 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). On Instagram, the number of followers is much greater: 20.4 million profiles follow the page, which gained fame by republishing third-party content without credit or due journalistic verification.

Janja followed the profile and informally contributed information during the 2022 electoral campaign. “Choquei”, in turn, actively published in favor of Lula's 2022 campaign and helped boost marketing actions linked to the campaign.

In 2023, when she was already first lady, Janja interacted with posts on the page.

In April, she responded to a publication by “Choquei” about the end of the import exemption for orders worth up to US$50. It was discussed at the time that the cost of taxes would be passed on to consumers. Janja published the following message: “Taxation is for companies and not for consumers”.

Janja's sentence gained wide repercussion in the media.

The “Choquei” profile on X became inactive in December after the death of Jéssica Canedo made the news. The page said on December 28 that it was undergoing a moment of reevaluation and that it would remove the false content republished from the air. The page is being investigated for inciting suicide.

On January 4, the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) cited the “Choquei” case to call for Lula’s impeachment.

The profile republished videos that went viral on the internet in January. Most of the content, however, is about the “Big Brother Brazil 2024”.

COORDINATED ACTION

Digital Banking and Mynd profiles have similar behavior on social media. Those specializing in gossip, for example, often republish each other's content with small changes to the post captions and videos and montages. O Power360 analyzed posts from Instagram profiles and identified almost identical posts.

WHAT MUSIC2MYND SAYS

In a note published on the agency's website, Music2Mynd states that “is suffering countless organized and systematic attacks of hate, lies and dissemination of Fake News”. Here's the complete of the note (PDF – 240 kB).

“The target is our company, the team of serious people who work here and, above all, the people we manage due to the relevance they have achieved in the public debate in Brazilian society. Furthermore, inciting insults and threats to executives and employees. These actions can cause irreparable damage”, says an excerpt.

The company also stated that it takes care “exclusively” of intermediating the sale of advertising on social media profiles and which does not participate in defining the content posted by affiliated creators.

He also said that he is aware that “social media can be used for good or bad”.

“We never orchestrate joint posts in any way or create political strategies for any ideological field”stated Music2Mynd.

Murilo Henare, CEO of Digital Banking, was approached by Power360but I didn't want to give an interview.