False: The content of videos published on Kwai that show an alleged ambassador saying that “there is no economic reason for someone not to vote for the reelection of the [Jair] Bolsonaro”. The man who appears in the video is not an ambassador, but the Argentine journalist Gustavo Segré, who made the statements during his participation in an edition of the program “Direto ao Ponto”, by Jovem Pan News.
Investigated Content: videos circulating on Kwai with an excerpt from a speech by Argentine journalist Gustavo Segré on a program on the news channel Jovem Pan News. At the top of the video is written: “ambassador says that Bolsonaro is really a beast”. In the video, Segré criticizes “left populist” governments in Argentina and argues that he “has no economic reason” not to vote for the reelection of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), in Brazil.
where it was published: Kwai.
Completion of Proof: It is false that a foreign ambassador said that Bolsonaro “is a real beast” or stated that “there is no economic reason for anyone not to vote for the reelection of the [Jair] Bolsonaro” in this year’s elections, contrary to what a video that circulates on the social network Kwai suggests. The speeches were actually made by the Argentine journalist Gustavo Segré during his participation in the edition of the program “Direto ao Ponto”, from Jovem Pan News, broadcast on August 8 this year. Segre itself posted, on his Instagram, an excerpt that appears in the verified content. A correspondent for the Argentine newspaper La Nación in Brazil, Segré is known for his critical stance on so-called left-wing governments in Latin America. He too is associated with the Argentine right-wing party Republicans Unidoscreated in 2020.
The same edition of the program, presented by journalist Augusto Nunes, was attended by the ambassador of Venezuela in Brazil, Maria Teresa Belandrianominated in 2019 by the self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó. However, in the video analyzed here, she makes no defense statement for voting for Bolsonaro. The Brazilian government recognized Belandria as a Venezuela’s official ambassador in June 2019, a position she still holds, according to the official website of the only recognized Venezuelan embassy in Brazil.
False for Comprova is content invented or edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.
Scope of publication: In the two posts that gave rise to verification by Comprova, it is possible to see a watermark with the name of another profile (“Marina Vascocelos424escritoraa”), which, in Kwai, indicates being the user who originally published the video. In that profile, however, the post was deleted. The two posts that reproduced the content, and were analyzed in the verification, had, until September 16, 2022, 27 thousand views. In addition to these videos, a search on Kwai itself with the phrase “ambassador says that Bolsonaro is really a beast” shows that there are at least 93 other identical content already published on the network, and with varying viewing numbers.
What the author of the publication says: We were unable to contact the author of the content verified by Kwai, where it was originally published. We found a Facebook profile with the same name and similar characteristics as Kwai’s profile, as well as five different photos of the same woman. The report sent a private message, which was viewed, but received no response until the publication of this check.
How do we check: We searched Google for the key phrase of the verified publication, “there is no economic reason for anyone not to vote for Bolsonaro’s reelection”. We use quotes in the search to get only the results with the full phrase. We found variations of this same content on other social networks. The second result, a publication with the same piece of disinformation on a Facebook page attributed to an alleged law firm, shows another angle of the video, in which it appears written in the background: “The Pendulum of Latin America”.
As in the content of the original Jovem Pan broadcast, the videos on Kwai also show the Brazilian journalist Augusto Nunes. We then searched on Google for the terms “O Pêndulo da América Latina” and “Augusto Nunes”. We came across the August 8 edition of the program “Direto ao Ponto”, from the Jovem Pan News news channel, and we recognized that it was the same video.
video context
The videos analyzed here present excerpts from the edition of the program “Direto ao Ponto”, from the news channel Jovem Pan News, broadcast on the 8th of August. Presented by journalist Augusto Nunes, “Direto ao Ponto” is a weekly talk show “that delves into debates on relevant topics today,” according to the station’s website.
The edition used in the Kwai video had as its theme “debating the political and economic effects of the growth in the number of leftist governments in Latin America” and had as guests the Argentine journalist Gustavo Segré (presented by Nunes as an “international journalist and political analyst”). ; the Venezuelan ambassador recognized by the Brazilian government Maria Teresa Belandria; Chilean deputy Chiara Barchiesi and journalist and candidate for federal deputy Carlos Cauti (Novo-SP).
One of the clippings published on social media, 1 minute and 42 seconds long, begins with a speech by Segré about the “risks” of countries that, according to him, are governed by “left-wing populist politicians”. Segré’s speech took place at the moment when the guests were debating about the recent loan negotiations between Argentine governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Segré then cites figures from the so-called “country risk” of Argentina and Ukraine and says that the impact of a left-wing populist government on a nation’s economy is worse than that of a war. In this passage, Segré states that Argentina’s “country risk” is 2,400 points and that of Ukraine is 1,800, without, however, specifying the source of this measurement. At the beginning of July, the indicator of the JP Morgan bank attributed to Argentina surpassed 2,600 points, a level close to the one mentioned by the journalist. Comprova, however, did not find information from the same source, that is, the country risk ranking of JP Morgan, assigned from Ukraine. In other publications, such as the websites Country Risk and believingthe investment grade risk levels assigned to the two countries are quite similar.
Then there is a cut and the next section is another speech by Segréin which he states that, from an economic point of view, there is no reason for Brazilians not to vote for the re-election of current President Jair Bolsonaro.
Another version of the same video, 4 minutes and 5 seconds long, is also circulating on Kwai. This version presents, in the first few minutes, another excerpt from a speech by Segré, in which he uses an analogy to explain what “socialism” is, which, according to him, happened in Venezuela in the past and is happening in Argentina today. .
Who is Gustavo Segre?
Gustavo Segré is Argentinian and lives in São Paulo. He is a partner in the consulting firm Segré and Associates and correspondent in Brazil for La Nación Más, the TV channel of the Argentine newspaper La Nación, where does analysis topics such as economics and politics. Often, Segré also makes comments in vehicles in Brazil, especially Jovem Pan, where he made the statement in the post verified in this text.
Segré is critical of the left and measures taken by the PT governments in Brazil and the governments of Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) and Alberto Fernández in Argentina, especially in terms of the economy. He shows support for most of Jair Bolsonaro’s actions. In 2021, he defined himself this way in a conversation on Twitter: “I’m liberal and I am not a bolsonarista, but I prefer Bolsonaro to a socialist/populist government”.
Last Tuesday, the 13th, Segré shared on his Twitter a video insinuating that the Datafolha polls point to a victory for President Lula because they prevent respondents from answering that they will vote for Bolsonaro – which is not true, according to verification published by the newspaper. Reuters Brazil.
Gustavo Segre too is part of the United Republicans, an Argentine party created from the fusion of four right-wing parties: Unidos por Argentina, Libertario, Mejorar and Recrear. Founded in 2020, the acronym contested the first legislative elections in 2021 and elected a deputy, Ricardo Lopes Murphy, who is also the party’s president. On his website, the caption says he defends freedom, property and respect for life.
According to the Lattes platform, Segré graduated in business administration from Universidade Bandeirante de São Paulo in 2006 and also in accounting sciences from Universidade Paulista in 2007. Before, studied economics at the University of Buenos Aires. In 2010, she did a postgraduate degree in controllership at Unip. According to his own LinkedIn profile, he is former teacher university graduation.
In none of his comments, social networks and internet pages, does Segré claim to be an ambassador, as the verified video states. Since 2020, the Argentine ambassador to Brazil is the politician and businessman Daniel Scioli. In June 2022, he temporarily left the post to take over the Ministry of Productive Development of Argentina, but in September Fernández decided to send it back to Brazil.
The author of the video on Kwai
The two versions of the video analyzed here were published by different users on Kwai, but they have the same watermark with the name of another profile (Marina Vasconcelos424 writer), probably the first to share the content. Marina’s profile on Kwai, however, no longer shows the post with the video, which indicates that the material has been deleted. In Kwai, Marina Vasconcelos introduces herself as a “writer, trained in psychology and businesswoman” and cites some books she has authored. On the network, much of the content shared by her is in support of President Bolsonaro.
She also has a Facebook profilethrough which Comprova tried to make contact, but there was no response.
According to Superior Electoral Court website (TSE), Marina tried to run for councilor for Salvador by the Christian Labor Party (PTC) in 2020, but her candidacy was rejected. According to the TSE, the candidacy was rejected for “lack of registration requirement”. Her too tried to be state deputy for Bahia in 2014 and 1998, not being elected on either occasion.
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content that goes viral on social media about the pandemic, public policies of the federal government and the presidential elections. The verified post falsely suggests that an ambassador, an authority seen as representing a technical and international vision, supports the reelection of Jair Bolsonaro. The content is harmful to the democratic process because it distorts people’s understanding of reality in the context of this year’s general elections. The population has the right to know the truth and to base their electoral choices on reliable information.
Other checks on the topic: Comprova made other checks on content that distorts the facts in an attempt to favor Bolsonaro’s candidacy for reelection, and showed be false that an election polling institute operates within the Lula Institute; what there is no record that the PT presidential candidate has stated that nurses “only serve to serve soup“; is that post deceives by associating the current price of meat in Brazil to an alleged plot of PT with the food sector company JBS.
Investigated by: Nexo, Crusoé and Piauí; Verified by: CNN Brasil, O Dia, Correio, NSC Comunicação, O Povo, Estado de S.Paulo, O Popular, Metrópoles, Imirante.com, A Gazeta and Plural Curitiba
Source: CNN Brasil
