False: It is false that the Landless Workers Movement (MST) is responsible for the destruction of a papaya and coffee plantation on a rural property in Espírito Santo. The statements were made in posts on YouTube. The attack on a crop in the municipality of Aracruz, in the northern region of the state, did indeed take place, but it has nothing to do with the MST, according to the Military Police (PM), which went to the scene to verify the incident. The MST also denies involvement in the case. The farm owner, on the other hand, said that what the man in the video says is a lie and that he does not know who is the author of the attacks. The suspicion, according to the PM, is that the destruction took place for personal reasons against the owner of the land.
Investigated Content: Video published in two YouTube channels shows papaya and coffee plantations vandalized on October 15, 2022. The author of the video says that papaya trees are lost and that the coffee plantation will only return to production in 2024. He associates the action with the fact that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to have gone first for the second round of the presidential elections. The publication also accuses the PT candidate of being angry with agribusiness and that “there will be no food” if he is elected. The relationship with the MST is in the title of both videos.
where it was published: YouTube and WhatsApp.
Completion of Proof: There is no involvement of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in an attack on a papaya and coffee plantation in the city of Aracruz, in the north of Espírito Santo, contrary to what publications on YouTube claim. In the video, the person responsible for the post verified here does not name the social movement, but says that the attack “is a reflection of the victory” of the left and former president Lula (PT) in the first round of the presidential elections. The author also claims that, if the PT is elected, new episodes of violence against agribusiness will occur. The citation to the MST appears in the title of the published videos.
In the early hours of last Saturday (15), a rural property in Espírito Santo was attacked. The area is in the region known as Córrego do Alemão, in the Jacupemba neighborhood, in rural Aracruz. Papaya and coffee trees were cut. Investigations by the local police, so far, have ruled out the participation of the MST. According to a police note sent to Comprova, the suspicion is that the attack took place for “personal motivations” against the owner of the farm. To Comprova, the owner said that he cannot say who would have been the author of the attacks, but that what is said in the video “is a lie”.
To Comprova, the MST also denied that it had carried out any such action and classified the content as “disinformation to criminalize the landless and former President Lula”.
Falsefor Comprova, is content invented or edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disclosed to spread a falsehood.
Scope of publication: On YouTube, the two videos received over 6,500 views, 346 likes and 91 comments as of October 18.
What does the publisher say?: At least two YouTube channels posted the same video on October 15th. One of them was the TV Bolsonaro 22 channel, which has more than 6,900 subscribers. In the channel description there is no indication of any email or phone contact. When searching for the name of the channel on other social networks, Comprova found the page “TV Bolsonaro – B22 in 2022” on Facebook. The profile photo used is the same as the YouTube channel that posted the video analyzed here. On the Facebook page there is an email contact, through which Comprova sent questions about the relationship between the page and the YouTube channel and about the video that is the object of this verification. There was no response until the closing of this check.
How do we check: We searched Google for “MST destroys papaya and coffee plantations”. The main results refer to old videos or to the two videos verified here. Searching for “MST destroying papaya and coffee plantations”, the first result is a matter of the G1 about the case, without any citation to the MST. We also found an article on the portal the Gazette and one in Victory sheet. In both reports, the movement is not mentioned.
We contacted the MST press office, the military and civil police of Espírito Santo and also the owner of the destroyed plantation. The authorities’ main line of investigation is “personal issues” against the owner of the area.
To locate the owner of the property, Comprova contacted the reporting team of the newspaper A Gazeta, in Espírito Santo, which the case had passed.
Finally, the team sought contact with the author of the YouTube post.
Police still investigate, but rule out MST involvement
The Civil Police of Espírito Santo informed that the case will be investigated through the Specialized Police Station for Criminal Investigations (Deic) of Aracruz and, for the investigation to be preserved, no other information would be passed on.
In a note, the Military Police’s press office reported that “last Saturday afternoon (15), a military police garrison proceeded to the town of Córrego do Alemão with the objective of verifying information shared in WhatsApp groups that a plantation of papaya would have been destroyed in a malicious action during the night. After identifying the exact location of the incident, the military made contact with the owners of the property who reported that they suspected that the crime had a personal motivation and that it would probably be an act of revenge”.
According to the police, the owners were instructed to register the incident at a police station so that the facts could be properly investigated and the incident was closed on the spot.
The PM also reported that, according to the team that dealt with the case, at no time did the owners who called the police to the scene mention the possibility that it was an MST action.
MST denies involvement
In a note, the direction of the MST reported that the movement “has no link with what is being reported by this video, and that it is an instrument of yet another fake news produced by bolsonaristas, who aim to produce disinformation to criminalize landless people and cause electoral panic against Lula’s presidential campaign”.
Owner says video ‘is a lie’
In contact with Comprova, the owner of the plantation confirmed that there was damage to his property and stated that he did not know who was responsible for the attacks, but that “there is no point” what is said in the video, which, according to him, “is a lie.” ”.
It was not possible to identify who is the author of the video. Although he does not know who was responsible for the recording, the owner assured that it is not anyone close to him, or employees of the property.
The plantation is close to the highway.
The property is located in Córrego do Alemão, in the Jacupemba neighborhood, in the rural area of the municipality of Aracruz, in Espírito Santo. In the verified video, the man who records it says that the area is on the border between the Jacupemba and Guaraná neighborhoods, close to a cloverleaf.
Comprova located the region through the Google Street View and found that the area is close to a highway, the BR-101. The owner of the area pointed out that the plantation is close to the highway, which could facilitate the access of strangers, in the case of the person responsible for the recording.
Comprova also got in touch with a wood treatment industry in the vicinity of the region. By WhatsApp, an employee confirmed that the attack took place and that it was on a nearby plantation. However, he said he had heard nothing about the MST’s involvement in the attacks.
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content about the pandemic, public policies of the federal government and the presidential elections that go viral on social media. False or misleading publications involving presidential candidates, such as the videos verified here, can lead to misinterpretations of reality and influence voters at the time of voting. Citizens have the right to base their choices on true and reliable information.
Other checks on the topic: Last week, Comprova already showed that the interruption in traffic on a highway in Rio Grande do Sul was caused by an accident and not by the MSTwe also check rumors already denied about alleged Lulinha farms that went viral again and we show that a speech by Lula was taken out of context to suggest mockery of those who believe in the promise of eating picanha.
Investigated by: CNN Brasil, GaúchaZH, Estado de S.Paulo and Piauí; Verified by: Plural Curitiba, Uol, Imirante.com, Folha de S.Paulo, O Dia, Metrópoles, Correio Braziliense, Alma Preta, A Gazeta, Estado de Minas and CBN.
Source: CNN Brasil
