False: It is false content published on Facebook stating that Lula was harassed when participating in the June festival in Caruaru, Pernambuco. The publication was edited with the introduction of an audio with screams of “thief”. In the original content, the former president is applauded during a political act by an ally in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. In the post, a pre-election campaign jingle is played.
Investigated Content: Video on Facebook shows Lula walking on a stage next to former Belo Horizonte mayor Alexandre Kalil. The former president holds a Brazilian flag in his hands. In the content, cries of: “thief, thief” are heard. The caption mocks: “The leader of the polls went to the June festival in Caruaru-PE and was extremely acclaimed by the people”.
where it was published: Facebook.
Completion of Proof: A video shared on Facebook is false stating that former president and pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) was booed and called a thief during a June party in Caruaru (PE). The video that circulates on the social network is, in fact, a montage. The audio with the swearing was later inserted through editing.
The images were taken on June 15 at a political event in Uberlândia (MG), in which Lula participated alongside former Belo Horizonte mayor Alexandre Kalil (PSD-MG). There are no records that PT participated in a June festival in Caruaru.
The post also questions the credibility of the polls for voting intentions by mocking: “The leader of the polls went to the June festival in Caruaru-PE and was extremely acclaimed by the people”. The allegation suggests that the former president has low popularity, which is not true. He appears first in polls of voting intentions for president, which use scientific methods to get the picture of the moment.
Falsefor Comprova, is content invented or edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disclosed to spread a falsehood.
Scope of publication: On Facebook, until June 24, the post had more than 1,300 shares, 138 comments and 351 likes. The post has already been flagged as “false information” by the platform.
What the author of the publication says: On Facebook, the post was made by a user who usually publishes content in support of Jair Bolsonaro. In her profile image, she even discloses the number 22, alluding to the PL, the party to which the president is affiliated. The same content was shared by a follower in a group called Dr Damares I support the Minister of Human Rights. Both were contacted by Comprova, but did not respond.
How do we check: The publication analyzed by Comprova has already been checked by other agencies such as to the facts, Rumors.org and AFP We check, which served as the basis for starting this verification. From there, it was possible to find the original video posted on TikTok.
In this content, it was possible to listen to an excerpt of what seems to be a campaign jingle and which has the following words: “I am from Minas Gerais, heart of Brazil…”. In a Google search for this excerpt, we found a video on YouTube, on Lucas Rodrigues’ channel, which detailed the information that this, in fact, is a pre-campaign jingle by the former mayor of Belo Horizonte, Alexandre Kalil (PSD ) to the government of Minas Gerais, in the 2022 elections.
From there, in a Google search with the words “Lula”, “Minas Gerais” and “Kalil”, we found the record of the event, which had live streaming on youtube.
Comprova also looked for articles published in the press about the political act, such as those of Power 360 and State of Mines. We also contacted two profiles that shared the fake content on Facebook.
Video with Lula being harassed is montage
The video that shows former President Lula being greeted with boos and shouts of “thief” is actually a montage, and the swearing was inserted through editing.
Originally, the recording was made in Uberlândia (MG), on June 15, and posted on TikTok by trade unionist Gil Carteiro, during a political event.
The part of the video that went viral, with edits, was made at the end of the act, when Lula and the former mayor of Belo Horizonte, Alexandre Kalil, shared the platform and appeared together holding the Brazilian flag.
In the original video, it is possible to hear the former president being received with applause to the sound of Alexandre Kalil’s jingle, who is also a pre-candidate for the government of Minas Gerais in this year’s state elections. The montage still tries to hide with stickers the watermark of the real author of the recording of the images, which is still partially visible.
Lula was in Natal (RN), Maceió (AL) and Aracaju (SE) on the weekend of June 18 and 19, but did not participate in the São João festivities in Caruaru, as informed by his press office.
Protest before the event
The political event checked here marked the first time that Lula and Kalil shared a platform in this pre-campaign of 2022. The event was held at the Centro Universitário do Triângulo (Unitri). The episode gained repercussion in the press due to an incident caused by people who would have placed a drone to spread feces and urine on the public. The waste was thrown out before the event started.
Although those affected reported having been attacked with feces, the Military Police of Minas Gerais said it was a biological product used to attract flies in crops.
On the 20th of June, the G1 revealed that the Minas Gerais State Public Ministry (MPE-MG) will investigate the case. The drone operators who threw chemicals at supporters were reported to the MPE by federal deputy Reginaldo Lopes (PT). The document was handed over to Attorney General Jarbas Soares Júnior. According to the prosecutor, it is necessary to properly investigate the facts with the performance of expert evidence on the drone and on the sprayed product.
Voting intention surveys
The caption of the investigated post also questions the credibility of the polls for voting intentions: “The leader of the polls went to the June festival in Caruaru-PE and was extremely acclaimed by the people”. Several followers endorse the questioning with comments that disqualify the work of institutes such as Datafolha; between them: “Look at the date people”. “I think there he went up a little more in the polls,” typed another.
The most recent research carried out by the Folha group, published on June 23, shows Lula with a 19-point advantage over the current president, marking 47% of voting intentions in the first round. Bolsonaro has 28%.
Even if the post verified here was true, an eventual isolated episode would not be enough to configure a sample of low popularity of a certain candidate. As Comprova recently showedelectoral polls use scientific methods to ascertain the reality of the moment with segments that may be representative of the Brazilian electorate in general.
Criticism of research institutes follows the line of Bolsonaro, who has already called “scoundrels” Datafolha data on the voting intention of evangelical voters.
why do we investigate: Comprova checks suspicious content about the pandemic, public policies and elections that have gone viral. The content checked here deals with an alleged demonstration against Lula, pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. Misleading content undermines voters’ decision-making during voting, disrupting the democratic process. In addition, electoral polls are essential tools for analyzing the country’s political context. The attempt to discredit them diminishes people’s trust in research institutes, hinders the perception of reality and influences the vote in the wrong way.
Other checks on the topic: The content of this check has also been verified by Rumors.org, Yahoo, Earth and to the facts.
Recently, Comprova showed that post local exchange of act against Lula to discredit pollswhat post is misleading by omitting that protest against Lula in Bagé (RS) is from 2018 is that old video is misleading by claiming that Lula and Alckmin were harassed in Porto Alegre.
Verified by: Estado de S. Paulo. Folha de S. Paulo, Plural Curitiba, Rádio Band News FM, A Gazeta, Metrópoles, Nexo, SBT, SBT News and AFP
Source: CNN Brasil
