Audio about survey fraud is by a comedian, not a former director of Datafolha

False: Video lies when attributing to Mauro Paulino, former director of Instituto Datafolha, statements about alleged fraud in electoral polls and manipulation of votes in electronic voting machines. The voice that appears in the videos is that of a comedian.

Investigated Content: audio of a man named as the director of the Datafolha Institute, Mauro Paulino, in which he talks about a conspiracy to rig polls and manipulate votes in electronic voting machines in favor of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). On YouTube, there is only the audio superimposed with the following words: “Audio leaked by the director of Datafolha”, accompanied by a headline from the G1, from May 2022, with the PT leader leading an electoral poll carried out by the institute. On Twitter, the same audio was released, but with the image of a man recorded at waist level while drinking a coffee, as if it had been filmed with a hidden camera.

where it was published: Twitter, Kwai and YouTube.

Completion of Proof: It is false an audio that circulates on social networks attributing to the former director of the Datafolha institute Mauro Paulino statements about alleged fraud in electoral polls and manipulation of votes in electronic voting machines. The audio in question was not recorded by Paulino.

In fact, the material was produced by Warley Alberto Clauhs, who presents himself as a comedian and who plays a character named Dr. Avacalho Ellys. The audio was cut and edited, being then attributed to Mauro Paulino. In the original video by Warley Alberto, the content is presented as a humor skit. However, in the comments on social mediamany people believe that the man would be the director of Datafolha.

Warley has already contested two elections, in 2016 and 2020, and was defeated in both. He tried to be elected councilor in the municipalities of Açailândia (MA) and Rondon do Pará (PA).

False, for Comprova, is content invented or edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disclosed to spread a falsehood. Although the original content is by a comedian, it was edited to attribute false information to someone else, in this case the former director of a research institute.

Scope of publication: Comprova investigates the most far-reaching suspicious content on social networks. On YouTube, the content reached more than 1,700 views and 122 likes. However, during the check, it was found that the publication was deleted from the channel on June 3, even before Comprova tried to contact the author. On Twitter, the video has been viewed over 450 times.

What the author of the publication says: No Twitter, a pessoa que compartilhou o conteúdo diz ser enfermeira e se descreve como “patriota e 100% Bolsonaro”. Comprova was unable to contact the author.

How do we check: Due to the voice that appears in the investigated video and the content of the sentence, our verifiers found that it was a content that had already gone viral on other occasions, including already verified by the check. On that occasion, the audio was attributed to an alleged PT lawyer.

Thus, we started the check looking for verifications on the topic and we located records of the Rumors.orgof G1 and gives Magnifying glass.

We also contacted Datafolha, by phone and email, to find out if Mauro Paulino is still one of the directors, in addition to seeking a position on the company. The Institute confirmed that he stepped down as director and denied that he was the author of the content. Mauro Paulino was also contacted via Twitter to express his views on the matter.

Comprova also checked with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) information related to electoral disputes in which Warley Alberto has participated.

Video is of a humorous character

The man featured in the verified content is Warley Alberto Clauhs, who brings the humorous character Dr. Avacalho Elhys. The actor maintains the channel “Nana Arroba and Dr. Avacalho” on YouTube, which has 755 subscribers.

In the description, he introduces himself as “actor, poet, teacher, speaker and imitator”. The target video of this check is available on the comedian’s channel and circulated in April 2022 as if it were a PT lawyer. The content, originally presented as a mood board, was verified by the check. The same character appears in several of the comedian’s other videos.

In 2016, Warley Alberto tried to get elected councilor in the city of Açailândia (MA), contesting the election for the Progressives. Four years later, in the 2020 elections, he was a candidate for the same office, but in Rondon do Pará (PA), this time by the Republicans. In both elections he was unable to be elected, remaining as an alternate.

According to information declared to the TSE, Warley was born in Teófilo Otoni (MG) and is 42 years old.

Mauro Paulino is no longer director of Datafolha

Comprova contacted Datafolha and was informed that Mauro Paulino is no longer director of the institute. He left office after 35 years, replaced by executive Luciana Chong.

In April of this year, the GloboNews announced the hiring of Paulino, who joined the station’s team of commentators. It analyzes the results of electoral polls that deal, above all, with the dispute for the presidency and also with the electoral race in governments, in the Senate and in the Federal Chamber.

We tried to contact Paulino, but we did not receive a response until the publication of this content.

why do we investigate: Comprova investigates content about pandemics, elections and public policies that reach a degree of viralization on social networks. With the election period approaching, the number of contents published on social networks grows, trying to discredit opinion polls and electronic voting in the country. Misleading or false information that puts electronic voting machines under suspicion undermines confidence in the Brazilian electoral system and can influence people to give up voting. The content of the video verified here also mentions the pre-candidate for the presidency Lula. False information involving political actors harms the democratic process and hinders the voter’s decision, which must be made based on true information.

Other checks on the topic: Previously, Comprova also showed that “PT lawyer” in Kwai video is a humorous characterwhat video that cites flaws already corrected in the polls returns to circulate out of context and that the Electronic voting system can be audited.

Investigated by Imirante.com, Correio de Carajás and CBN Cuiabá. Verified by Estadão, Metrópoles, CNN Brasil, A Gazeta, O DIA, PLURAL Curitiba, Folha de S. Paulo, Rádio BandNews FM and AFP.