False: The video circulating on the internet attributing laughter from Irish TV show presenters to criticism against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), presidential candidate, is false. A translation was invented in order to distort the context of the dialogue, which makes no mention of Brazil or the former president. In fact, presenters have a fit of laughter after one of them makes a nasal sound while chuckling after a speech about taste buds.
Investigated Content: Excerpt of a foreign TV program with subtitles that insinuate that presenters mock the alleged statement by former President Lula about buying votes from Bahian voters. The content also says: “Lula makes Bahians a joke around the world. Northeasterners humiliated around the world because of the thief [sic]”.
where it was published: Kwai, Facebook and WhatsApp
Completion of Proof: It is false that presenters of a foreign TV program said that former President Lula (PT) bought votes from Bahian citizens. The video investigated by Comprova shows a excerpt from an Irish programme, aired in November 2020. In the manipulated passage, subtitles were invented to insinuate that the duo of presenters were ridiculing voters for allegedly exchanging votes for R$ 10 or a bologna snack. However, the content does not match what is said in the program. The presenters actually laugh at a joke about taste buds and don’t even make reference to Brazil. While laughing, one of them emits a nasal sound that resembles a pig’s grunt, which causes a burst of laughter in the duo.
It is also not true that Lula said it was possible to buy the vote of Bahian voters. This claim stems from an old rumor that handle an interview from PT to Rádio Metrópole, in Salvador, granted in 2017. The malicious edition distorts a speech by the former president, in which he argues that, in order to recover the Brazilian economy, it is necessary to include the poorest in the market. “You give R$10 to the poor and he becomes a consumer, you give R$10 million to a rich man and he puts it in his bank account”, said Lula.
Comprova considers false content invented or edited to change its original meaning and is released deliberately to spread a falsehood.
Scope of publication: The content reached, until August 30th, more than 188 thousand views distributed between two posts on the short video network Kwai. On Facebook, a post received 849 shares.
What the author of the publication says: Comprova contacted the profile @Marcosbr37, author of a publication of the content on Kwai, but so far has not received a response.
How do we check: Comprova downloaded Kwai’s video on the platform Save from Net and inserted it into the program InVID, which allows a reverse search on the internet based on video frames. Among the results, it was possible to locate the original excerpt of the program, posted on official account of attraction on Twitter; a tweet from presenter Karen Koster, who explains the reason for the laughter; and texts from local websites that explain the context of the situation (Evoke and Extra.ie). The materials identified by the report also helped to confirm the transcript of the dialogue between the presenters.
Subsequently, searches were made for content that relates Lula to votes cast by voters in Bahia. The result displayed checks of the Estadão Checkof to the facts and gives Agency Magnifying Glass, which deny the rumor that the former president would have admitted to buying voters. Comprova also identified a verification of the Agency Magnifying Glass on the same video analyzed in this check.
Presenters make no reference to Brazil
The video shared with the insertion of fake subtitles is an excerpt from the program Ireland: amwhich aired on November 10, 2020, as shown post at the twitter attraction officer. The morning show is shown daily by the group’s Virgin Media One channel. Virgin Media Televisionbased in Dublin, Ireland.
In the November 10, 2020 edition, the guest was chef Tony Keogh, from Cornucopia restaurant. Before calling him, presenter Alan Hughes asks a question to his colleague, Karen Koster, whose answer amuses him. Hughes, when laughing, emits a nasal sound that resembles a snort, which ends up causing a crisis of laughter in the duo.
The presenter Karen Koster herself explains, in a tweet posted on the same day, that the cause of the grace was the sound of the benchmate’s laughter. “Alan’s snort pushed me over the edge!” she wrote. In a free translation into Portuguese: “Alan’s snoring got me out of my mind”. The tweet was shared by the website Evoke, which reverberated the episode.
Before the presenters burst out laughing, Alan had asked:
“Karen, do you like your taste buds tickled?”
Karen replies, “Everyday. Before nine if possible”.
In a free translation into Portuguese:
“Karen, do you like having your taste buds tickled?”
“Every day. Before nine if possible.”
The context about the reason for the laugh is provided in the Evoke article. another article provides a transcript of the dialogue in English. There is no reference to Brazil, the Workers’ Party or Lula.
In the continuation of the original video, still amid the laughter, presenter Karen Koster introduces, in almost inaudible audio, the recipe that chef Tony Keogh made on the show. It says “Baked cauliflower fritter with avocado, basil and cream” or “baked cauliflower with avocado, basil and cream”, in free translation. One post from the restaurant on Facebook, on the same day as the episode, shows the execution of the dish.
Afterwards, Koster apologizes to the chef, blaming his colleague for the laugh, and the show goes on.
fake subtitles
The fake captions inserted in the video resume misleading posts that originated in 2017, when Lula gave an interview to Rádio Metrópole, in Salvador. In this ocasion, an excerpt from the interview was manipulated to make it appear that Lula claimed to buy votes from Bahian voters for R$10, as shown by the Estadão Check, to the facts and Agency Magnifying Glass.
Below, the fake captions inserted in the verified video, compared to what the presenters actually say (in parentheses and with the free translation into Portuguese next door):
Fake caption: “Lula would buy Bahian vote for R$10 and bologna snack”
(“Are you looking for a snack to tickle your taste buds? Karen, do you like to tickle your taste buds?” / “Are you looking for a snack to tickle your taste buds? Karen, do you like having your taste buds tickled?” )
Fake caption: “Every day? Nine fingers?”
(“Everyday. Before nine if possible” / “Everyday. Before nine if possible”)
Fake caption: “The Brazilian people vote with their stomach. Mortadella snack and R$ 10 reais”
(“Tony Keogh from Cornucopia Restaurant is helping us to ease into the morning with a healthy breakfast snack” / “Tony Keogh from Cornucopia Restaurant is helping us unwind in the morning with a healthy breakfast snack”).
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates potentially false and misleading content related to the 2022 presidential elections, the pandemic and public policies of the federal government. The analyzed video produces and disseminates falsehoods, with wide virality on social networks, which can directly affect the image of people and public organizations. Content of this type is harmful to the democratic process because it interferes with voters’ knowledge of candidates and can influence their decisions, which must be made based on true information.
Other checks on the topic: The Comprova project has already denied other content that invents or distorts statements by political personalities, including Lula. In August, we aim to be misleading a video that takes out of context excerpts from an interview with the former president to claim that the PT said he will implement a dictatorship in Brazil. We also indicate that there are no records that Lula defended an artistic performance in which children could touch a naked man.
The content analyzed in this verification was also classified as false by the Agency Magnifying Glass.
Investigated by: O Dia, Estado de S.Paulo and Portal Norte de Notícias; Verified by: Metrópoles, Correio Braziliense, Plural Curitiba, Folha de S.Paulo, Piauí, Alma Preta, CBN Cuiabá, Imirante.com, A Gazeta, Correio, O Popular and Grupo Sinos.
Source: CNN Brasil
