Post deceives by omitting that protest against Lula in Bagé is from 2018

Misleading: The publication that shows a demonstration against former president and presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the city of Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, which took place in 2018, is misleading. “elecicoesright”, implying that they are recent images. The video, from a report by SBT, was posted on the TikTok platform without subtitles and important information, such as the date of the protest that took place in 2018.

Investigated Content: Video that circulates on TikTok shows the passage of former President Lula through the city of Bagé, in Rio Grande do Sul. At the time, the PT was harassed by protesters. The first part of the content is a report from the SBT 2018 and the second, an unidentified amateur video. In the post, there is no mention of the date on which the protest took place.

where it was published: TikTok

Completion of Proof: The publication made in June 2022 on TikTok, which shows a demonstration against former President Lula, in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, is misleading. Although the protest actually took place, the situation took place on March 19, 2018, at the time when PT was on a caravan in several Brazilian cities.

By not mentioning the date of the demonstration, the post may give the false impression that the demonstration is recent. What can even be observed in comments such as “’Mais’ now it wasn’t him who was ahead in research?”, “Ué ‘num’ is the first in the searches’, “he is not the favorite?”, as shown in the screenshots below:

misleading, for Comprova, is content taken from the original context and used in another so that its meaning undergoes changes; 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. As of June 9, the publication had more than 4,300 likes, 695 comments and was shared more than 1,800 times.

What the author of the publication says: The content was shared by a profile on TikTok identified as “right elections”, which accumulates 12,900 followers. During verification, the video was deleted, as well as the profile account on the platform. Unable to contact the author.

How do we check: Comprova started the search for the keywords “Lula” and “protest in Bagé” and found records from several journalistic vehicles published in March 2018. GZHgives Look and Power 360.

Using the same keywords, we looked for videos published on Youtube and Facebook that were similar to the amateur recording that appears in the second half of the post. We used Google Street View to try to identify similarities between the videos and the places where the demonstrations took place.

Protest against Lula took place in 2018

In 2017, the former president started a journey through several states. Entitled “Squid for Brazil”, the project was intended to show the PT’s strength and popularity in the face of the Lava Jato investigations that were advancing on him. The trips began in the Northeastern states, between August and September of that year, a region where Lula has always been most popular. Subsequently, the caravan was reaching other regions of the country.

The protest against former President Lula in the city of Bagé, in Rio Grande do Sul, took place on March 19, 2018, according to reported by the press at the time. The municipality was chosen, at that time, as the starting point of the caravan in the states of the southern region of the country.

Lula was accompanied by former president Dilma Rousseff (PT), party president Gleisi Hoffmann and former Rio Grande do Sul governor Tarso Genro, among other politicians. In Bagé, he participated in an activity at the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa).

The former president’s arrival at the university took place in the morning and was marked by confusion between PT supporters and protesters against the politician. Lula had left the city’s airport on a bus and on the way to Unipampa, blockades by members of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST).

Also in the vicinity of the university, groups were divided between supporters and ruralists opposed to the visit. A confrontation took place at the scene and one of the protesters had to be handcuffed by police, as reported the original SBT report. There were about 20 tractors with their engines running, in addition to posters with protests against Lula and a ‘pixuleco’ – as the inflatable dolls used in demonstrations against Lula and the PT became known. The object was hanging in a cell that was hoisted by a crane.

On the electric trio stopped in front of the campus, a banner printed the following sentence: “Lula, Bagé is proud to welcome you!”. The former president gave a short speech from above the trio.

amateur video

2018 posts on Facebook and YouTube (post 1 and post 2) play the amateur video along with other recordings. There is also a post of the video on a deleted YouTube channel, but the recording was saved by the Way Back Machine tool. The publications mention the demonstrations against Lula in Bagé in the caption and in the comments. In addition, some of them were posted on the same day as the protests in the municipality.

Press reports recording the protests in Bagé also have elements present in the amateur video. In the verified post, after the buses pass, it is possible to see a building with a white facade. The same building can be seen in registration made by the UOL portalat SBT report (minute 0:32) and in video available on YouTubewhich shows the moment from elsewhere.

Despite the low quality of the images, it is possible to see that one of the protesters is immobilized by a policeman with a white helmet, who is next to other agents with orange shields and helmets. The scene was recorded by SBT from another angle.

The video on YouTube shows the scenes of the protest next to the demonstrators in favor of former President Lula. Also appears the caravan of the politician, formed by three buses of the company Corumbau Brasil, which is shown in the post verified under attack. In addition, at the beginning of the filming, the Unipampa building in Bagé is shown.

why do we investigate: Comprova investigates content about pandemics, elections and public policies that reach a degree of viralization on social networks. The post checked here makes a misleading claim for not citing the date on which the protest took place. In the midst of the campaign for the presidency of the Republic and with Lula as a pre-candidate, the content may end up giving the false impression that the act took place this year. False or misleading content involving political actors harms the democratic process and hinders the voter’s decision, which must be made based on true information.

Other checks on the topic: Recently, the Comprova showed that videos of demonstration against Lula in Passo Fundo are from 2018; what Facebook post deceives by publicizing pro-Bolsonaro acts of 2021 as if they were current is that the publication claiming that Veja magazine cut off Lula’s hand in a photo is false.