Who does hyperlocal journalism: deprofessionalization and appropriation of signs in journalistic arrangements on Instagram

The article investigates the transformations in work in the face of the advance of platform capitalism and labor precariousness, taking as its object "O Sobralense", a digital native journalistic arrangement from the interior of Ceará, constituted as a microenterprise and operated by actors without formal training in journalism. The study questions how algorithmic pressures and precarious work relationships reconfigure their productive routines. Methodologically, it adopts a mixed approach, with lexicometric analysis, via IRAMUTEQ, of the captions published on Instagram in the first quarter of 2026. The results indicate four main fronts of action: police coverage with exposure to risk, news replication as a cost-reduction strategy, political-institutional articulation, and monetization through community advertising. It is concluded that the precarious worker divides his time between demands for engagement and economic survival, while the performance of journalistic identity acts as a strategy of territorial legitimation and adaptation to the data economy.