Citizens and their bots sniffing corruption: benefits and limitations of using digital media to expose politicians who misuse public money in Brazil

“Naming and shaming” has been considered part of the strategies of many regulatory and anti-corruption agencies and international organizations. This paper explores, instead, the main constraints affecting and benefits of anti-corruption grassroots initiatives that pursue this more confrontational strategies by exposing offenders and publicising their wrongdoings. It does so by examining two anti-corruption bottom-up initiatives in Brazil that detect corruption through bots to audit congressional members’ expenses, and then uses social media to expose their suspicious findings. Evidence is taken from interviews, including the initiators and members of both initiatives, and participant observation of Telegram groups where volunteers of both projects interact. The findings suggest that exposing those who misuse public money using digital media was a tactic adopted only after failing to achieve the response they expected from control agents. As an unforeseen effect, the civic digital actions attracted media attention and more supporters willing to be part of the initiatives. The Brazilian cases also show that digital media allows rapid data collection, access to information and offers low-cost tools to publicize corruption, even though activists recognize the risks and threats of this strategy. Technology speeds up auditing procedures and has a strong potential to scale up collective action. At the same time, there are great difficulties in financing these civic tech initiatives, keeping both activists and ordinary citizens engaged, and expanding the scope of their actions, raising questions about the best strategies to fight corruption from the grassroots in a sustainable manner.