False: It is false that the American journalist Matthew Tyrmand has proved, in a Fox News program, from the United States, the interference of the government of Joe Biden, the American president, in the Brazilian election. Tyrmand’s participation in the attraction is full of false and misleading allegations and has an opinionated tone, with a clear lack of knowledge of the functioning of the electoral system in Brazil. The program is hosted by journalist Tucker Carlson, known in the United States for being a propagandist of anti-immigration policies and supporter of white supremacists.
Investigated Content: Posts on Twitter and Instagram of an unsubstantiated allegation made on a Fox News program, an American news channel. In the posts, it is alleged that journalist Matthew Tyrmand demonstrated, in the broadcast, evidence of the intervention of the government of Joe Biden, president of the United States, in the Brazilian electoral process in 2022.
where it was published: Twitter and Instagram.
Completion of Proof: It is false that journalist Matthew Tyrmand proved that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, interfered in the Brazilian elections. The statement was made by Tyrmand during the Tucker Carlson Tonight program on Fox News.
Both the broadcaster and the presenter are notorious propagators of disinformation in the United States. Tucker Carlson, who gives the show its name, is also known for supporting white supremacists and anti-immigration policies.
Tyrmand’s false accusation would have been made on the program that aired on November 2 of this year. The complete attraction is about 40 minutes long. At various times, Carlson makes comments about the Brazilian election, alleging concerns about China’s influence on the American continent, due to recently elected left-wing leaders, such as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Tyrmand’s participation took place in the last block of the attraction and lasted less than three minutes. Tucker Carlson alleges that the journalist would prove the interference of the American government in the Brazilian election. But, without evidence, Tyrmand cites a series of decisions by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the visit of a CIA director (American intelligence service) to Brazil, in March of this year, and an alleged “censorship of anyone who disagrees of the results of the elections”.
Falsefor Comprova, is content invented or edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disclosed to spread a falsehood.
Scope of publication: Post on Instagram has been deleted. As of November 4th, she had 584k views, 46k likes and 745 comments. On Twitter, there were 42,200 likes, 12,000 shares and 404 comments.
What does the publisher say?: We made contact with the profile used by blogger Allan dos Santos to publish the disinformation piece on Instagram. Until the closing of the text, he had not returned. The profile that made the post on Twitter did not allow sending messages.
How do we check: First, we looked for the website of Fox News to check if the program mentioned in the posts really existed. O Tucker Carlson Tonight is a daily program of the American channel, presented by the journalist who names the attraction. Comprova then found excerpts from the program on the Fox News website, including a video in which Carlson comments on the Brazilian elections. However, the specific excerpt used in the disinformation pieces was found on YouTube, on the DVD News channel, which makes several Fox News programs available in full. The snippet related to the screenshot used in the disinformation pieces starts at 30 minutes from the attraction.
We are still looking for information on presenter Tucker Carlson, known in the United States as a supporter of white supremacists, having sympathy from Ku Klux Kan (KKK) leaders. Carlson is also a notorious supporter of anti-immigration policies.
The journalist who made the report without evidence on the show is Matthew Tyrmand. Comprova found his official profile on Twitter, where he has shared appearances in attractions related to the American far-right, such as a program hosted by Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, who was recently sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating the January 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. Currently, Bannon responds in freedom.
Finally, we got in touch with the profile of Allan dos Santos, known for spreading disinformation on social networks and with subsequent suspensions of profiles. Allan states in the account description on which the disinformation piece was posted that this is his 17th Instagram profile. In the stories that were on air between October 2nd and 3rd, he summons followers for an 18th account, as the current one “will be taken down”. Allan did not respond to questions from Comprova. The Twitter profile that reposted the allegation does not allow direct messaging.
Alleged complaint has no evidence
The tone of the verified post is alarmist, and suggests fraud in the Brazilian presidential elections in 2022. However, in Tyrmand’s comment, there is no evidence of irregularity in the election. His and Tucker Carlson’s comments on recent events in Brazil are opinionated and based on speculation. O program Tucker Carlson Tonight aired on Fox News on November 2nd.
For Carlson and Tyrmand, US interference in Brazilian elections refers to the fact that the Biden administration “pressured President Jair Bolsonaro to accept the election results before they took place”, including sending CIA agent William Burns to Brazil (CNN Brazil and Folha de S.Paulo) in July 2021.
They also question the Biden administration’s silence in the face of what they call “acts of censorship against Bolsonaro supporters”, who would have had their posts removed and accounts suspended on social media, for, in theory, casting doubt on the outcome of the presidential elections in Brazil. .
Carlson shows images of a protest in Rio de Janeiro and says that freedom of expression and democracy in the country are threatened with the support of the CIA and big techs (social media companies). However, both he and Tyrmand do not present evidence of fraud in the elections and do not cite the undemocratic nature of the demonstrations, with roadblocks and calls for military intervention in the country (Folha de S.PauloCNN Brazil, The globe, UOL, Brazil Agency).
Who is host Tucker Carlson?
Tucker Carlson is the anchor of the Tucker Carlson Tonight show, which airs Wednesdays at 8pm on Fox News. Second reportage from UOL, Carlson is considered one of the biggest names of conservatism in the North American media. Carlson joined Fox News in 2009 and debuted with his own show in November 2016, the same month Donald Trump was elected to the presidency of the United States.
According to The Guardian, Carlson has gone on to be one of the main representatives of far-right conservatism, defending anti-immigration and white supremacy agendas. In his program, he often propagates Conspiracy theories: speculative, non-evidence-based hypotheses about organizations or coordinated covert actions to cover up an event.
One of the theories he propagates is the “great replacement theory” (great replacement theory), which claims that immigration policies, especially those aimed at the non-white population, are a strategic plan to undermine or replace the political power and culture of white western civilization. Second article in The Washington Post, the idea has been propagated in more than 400 episodes of its show since 2016, according to a survey by The New York Times.
Regarding the United States, Carlson uses the theory to claim that the leftist elite, which he associates with the Democratic party, seeks to reshape the profile of the American electorate based on immigration, as he cites. text of the UOL. The article also recalls that Carlson believes in the existence of racial discrimination against white people and criticizes feminist movements.
Who is Matthew Tyrmand?
He is an American journalist, of Polish origin, based in New York. He is a member of Veritas Project, founded in 2010 by far-right activist James O’Keefe. On the project’s official page, Veritas defines itself as a non-profit journalistic company dedicated to investigating and exposing corruption, dishonesty, fraud and other misconduct in public and private administration. Nonetheless, is known for spreading false information and conspiracy theories.
On Twitter, Tyrmand questions the results of the elections in Brazil and shares posts by Bolsonarista supporters with the same content and attacks on Alexandre de Moraes, president of the TSE, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), elected president of Brazil.
On October 3, the day after the first round of presidential elections in Brazil, Agência Pública published report on statements by members of the American extreme right that the elections had been rigged. The article reproduces statements by Steve Bannon, a former strategist for Donald Trump, who came to be doomed to four months in prison for refusing to collaborate with investigations into the Capitol Raid, and Tyrmand, made in a podcast that same day.
On the podcast, Tyrmand alleged election fraud, but without providing evidence. “There was a fraud there. There was definitely a fraud there,” Tyrmand said, according to matter of the Public Agency. The American supported his allegations based on the fact that Jair Bolsonaro led the dispute in the first moments of the investigation and that the Liberal Party (PL), a party to which the president is affiliated, had good results in the elections for the National Congress.
On November 2, three days after Lula’s victory in the second round, Tyrmand tweeted an image of anti-democratic protest in Rio and wrote that Brazilians did not seem to agree that the elections in Brazil had been “fair, free and reliable”, and stated that they Brazilians did not want to be governed by a “convicted transnational criminal”. the post was retweeted by federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP).
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content that goes viral on social media about the pandemic, public policies of the federal government and presidential elections. At the present time, content that contains disinformation about the current or elected president can disrupt democracy.
Other checks on the topic: Agência Lupa published, on Thursday (3), that alleged interference by the United States in the Brazilian election does not mean fraud. Verifications carried out by Comprova have also denied allegations that cast doubt on the electoral process. It is the case of the video that insinuated fraud in Maceió; gives publication that invented data about cities to allege electoral fraud; it’s from erroneous count that suggests fraud in the counting of votes.
Investigated by: GaúchaZH, O Popular and O Dia; Verifiers by: Uol, Plural Curitiba, Estado de S.Paulo, CNN Brasil, A Gazeta, Folha de S.Paulo and CBN Cuiabá
Source: CNN Brasil
