Investigated Content: post with three photos of demonstrations in favor of Jair Bolsonaro with the claim that it would be a summary of the pro-government acts in May 2022.
where it was published: Facebook.
Completion of Proof: The post on Facebook that brings together three photos of demonstrations in favor of the government of Jair Bolsonaro is misleading. Entitled “If the media corrupts you, we show you the summary of the month”, the post was made on May 31, 2022, but the images were captured a year earlier.
In the caption of the post, the author mentions that “the real research is the streets”, in an attempt to counteract the researches electoral officers that, in recent days, have pointed to the expansion of the advantage of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) against Bolsonaro and the possibility of victory in the 1st shift.
In the comments of the post, most declare support for the president and many believe that the photos are recent records, such as the Bolsonaro supporter who says: “This is the real research. He is elected in the first round.”
For Comprova, misleading it is content taken from the original context and used in another so that its meaning is altered; that uses inaccurate data or that leads to an interpretation different from the author’s intention; content that confuses, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.
Scope of publication: Comprova investigates the most far-reaching suspicious content on social networks. The post investigated here had more than 21 thousand shares and another 5 thousand comments until June 3rd.
What the author of the publication says: With a Facebook profile entirely dedicated to publications about Jair Bolsonaro, the author was contacted via message from the platform, but did not return.
How do we check: The team’s first step check was to separate the three photos that were published together and research them separately. with the tool reverse search of Google, in which an image is inserted into the search engine to check if it has already been published, it was possible to identify one by one. To do so, in the Google images section, the report clicked on a camera symbol and uploaded each photo.
With the images reproduced on some websites in May 2021, Comprova also consulted journalistic content from that period (G1, Folha de S.Paulo, G1) to confirm the holding of the demonstrations.
Comprova also made contact with the author of the viral post, who did not respond until the verification was published.
Pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations
The three images included in the montage published on the internet are from the month of May, but from last year. The sequence starts on the 1st, goes on to the 9th and ends on the 15th of that period of 2021. The way the photos were positioned does not follow the chronological sequence of the facts.
THE top image is from May 15, 2021. The photo was taken during pro-Bolsonaro government demonstrations promoted by religious and by ruralists, in Brasilia. That Saturday, the act took place on the Esplanada dos Ministérios and was attended by the president and members of the government, although the period still required protocols stricter measures to prevent covid-19 such as social distancing and the use of masks.
Bolsonaro arrived by helicopter at the venue and then paraded on horseback. Maskless, he greeted and addressed supporters clustered on the Esplanade lawn.
The protesters, dressed in green and yellow, carried posters and banners intended to criminalize communism and the printed vote. They also attacked the work of the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). Although unconstitutional, one banner, in English, called for military intervention.
motorcycle
In the montage, the photo at the bottom left is from May 9, 2021. It was produced on the motorcycle made by Bolsonaro, on a Sunday morning, and disclosed by himself in a post on his Twitter, with the following message: “Let all those who want to see the people distant from me, or who hope to see me distant from the people, give up. I am and will be with him until the end. Good night everyone!” he tweeted.
The concentration of the tour started in front of Palácio da Alvorada around 8:30 am. At 9:00 am, the group started their journey, passing through the Esplanada dos Ministérios and touring the central area of Brasília.
General Braga Netto, Minister of Defense, also participated in the act. Security and firefighters accompanied the motorcycle participants. Some traffic points were blocked by the Military Police for the passage of the group.
Labor Day
The third and last image, to the right of the bottom of the montage, is of the demonstration that took place on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, on May 1, 2021, Labor Day. the photo shows pro-Bolsonaro sympathizers at the time of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp). It was there the main concentration of the movement. At the scene, a sound car was parked with a banner that called for economic reopening in the state of São Paulo during the pandemic and also took a stand against the STF.
The protesters carried Brazilian flags and posters against former President Lula, which also included calls for military intervention and closure of the National Congress.
The Traffic Engineering Company (CET) announced that it blocked four blocks of the road, from Alameda Campinas to Alameda Ministro Rocha Azevedo.
election polls
At election polls with voting intention for the Presidency of the Republic indicate, at this moment, advantage of ex-president Lula before Bolsonaro. The most recent consultations even point to the possibility of victory in the first round of the PT pre-candidate.
The unfavorable result feeds a narrative of Bolsonarist groups that do not believe in official polls, claiming that the “Data Povo”, that is, the mobilization of the streets, would demonstrate that Bolsonaro will be reelected.
The caption of the post verified here and some of the comments bring an excerpt of this narrative, such as the internet user who says: “This is the real research. He is elected in the first round.”
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content that went viral on social media about the covid-19 pandemic, public policies of the federal government and presidential elections. The post investigated here mentions an alleged summary of pro-Bolsonaro acts in the month of May, but does not mention the year in which the movements took place.
In addition to producing misleading news about the president and pre-candidate for reelection, disinformation content is harmful to the democratic process and deprives the population of the right to make their choices based on facts, not rumors.
Other checks on the topic: The 2022 election period is being permeated by disinformation. Comprova has recently demonstrated that it is false that Lula stole 350 thousand tons of gold from Serra Peladawhat photo of Bolsonaro with Elon Musk on a speedboat is montage is that Time magazine cover with Lula is authentic.
It has also shown other content that uses old images, such as videos to deceive about adherence to pro-Bolsonaro actsand countless that deal with electoral consultations, such as the article that maintains that no poll shows 70% of votes for Bolsonaro or the one that shows that Restaurant poll cannot be considered survey.
Investigated by Portal Norte de Notícias and A Gazeta. Verified by CBN Cuiabá, Correio de Carajás, O Estado de S. Paulo, Plural Curitiba and Nexo.
Source: CNN Brasil
