Misleading: Contrary to what a misleading video that circulates on social media suggests, Simone Tebet (MDB), a presidential candidate, did not say that she will “take money from the poor” to give it to the middle class. She proposes, in fact, to remove the income tax from those who earn less and increase this tax on the richest. The content omits the context of Tebet’s speech to Jornal Nacional, which leads to a misinterpretation of the candidate’s statement.
Investigated Content: Video on Kwai shows part of the interview with Simone Tebet, candidate for the presidency of the MDB, to Jornal Nacional, in which she states: “We have to ensure that the middle class cannot pay income tax. There is only one way to do this: take from the poorest and ask for the richest”.
where it was published: Kwai.
Completion of Proof: The video on Kwai that takes out of context statements made by presidential candidate Simone Tebet during a Saturday on the Jornal Nacional, on Rede Globo, on August 26, is misleading. The content suggests that it would have as a proposal in the government plan to take money from the poorest to give to the middle class.
After being asked on the news about the proposed changes in the application of income tax, Tebet responds: “We have to make sure that the middle class can not pay income tax. There is only one way to do this, to take from the poorest and ask for the richest. I am in favor of taxing profits and dividends […] This is (sic) in our program and we change the income tax table as we charge this rate of profits and dividends from the rich”.
Tebet was referring to income tax reform for, as stated in page 31 of your government plan“eliminate the regressivity of our system”, a scenario in which tax collection is proportionally higher on those who earn less. In other words, the candidate wants to prevent poorer people from paying more taxes.
Based on the original context, it is possible to understand that its purpose is to “take” taxes from the poorest, not their money, and increase this type of taxation on the richest.
misleading, for Comprova, is any 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. The post had 968 likes, over 1,000 comments and 737 shares on Kwai as of September 6.
What the author of the publication says: Comprova contacted the profile that published the video through a private message on Kwai itself, but until the closing of this check, there was no response.
How do we check: Visual elements of the misleading video showed similarities with Tebet’s interview given to Jornal Nacional on August 26, 2022. From that, we watched the program and identified the moment of the policy lines that were used in the investigated content (minute 26:51 of the interview).
Then, through the keywords “Tebet”, “tax” and “Jornal Nacional”, we found articles that echoed the interviewee’s speeches (G1 and UOL) to understand the context of the statements. We also got in touch with her press office, which forwarded the demand to the communication sector of the MDB’s national campaign. In addition, we sought answers from the author of the publication.
Tebet’s interview with Jornal Nacional
Simone Tebet participated in the live interview of Jornal Nacional on August 26, 2022. After Tebet talks about proposals for education and mentions the need for tax reform, journalist Renata Vasconcellos asks about income tax. The candidate says that the most important tax reform in the country is that of consumption, because “who pays the most tax in Brazil is the poor, who consume the most, in proportion to income”. She also argues that people with lower incomes leave half, or a little more than half, of their salary at the supermarket.
After that, Renata asks: “Regarding income tax, which I asked you, what are your plans? We have 5 tracks, right? The exempt and more 4. What changes?”
Tebet responds: “We have to make it so that the middle class can not pay income tax. There is only one way to do this, to take from the poorest and ask for the richest. I am in favor of taxation of profits and dividends and this is a mature discussion that we have with all balance, but in all truth, to put it to the population”.
“They already know that. This is (sic) in our program, and we change the Income Tax table as we charge this rate of profits and dividends from the rich. It’s Robin Hood law, but we won’t steal from anyone. We will only ask them to contribute minimally to a country that is the richest country in the world with the poorest people”, the policy continues.
By itself, the verified video removes the lines from the original context and inserts in the caption the terms “The candidate Simone Tebet takes from the poorest” to induce the interpretation that the MDB candidate has, as a proposal, to take money from the poorest to give to the middle class.
Tebet government plan
As mentioned by Simone Tebet during the interview, page 31 of his government plan mentions the income tax reform with the aim of eliminating the regressiveness of the Brazilian tax system.
THE regressivity of the tax system occurs when there is a proportionally greater collection on those who earn less. Therefore, avoiding the regressiveness of the system, as proposed by the MDB candidate, means preventing poorer people from paying, based on the size of their income, plus taxes.
Sought by Comprova, Tebet said in a statement: “This news is untrue! What we need is tax justice in the country, with a more progressive and not regressive system as we have today: those who can afford more, pay more; who can afford less, pays less”.
why do we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content that went viral on social media about the pandemic, public policies of the federal government and presidential elections. Misleading content about candidates for the presidency of the Republic can harm the electoral process as a whole by influencing voters’ decisions through misleading information.
Other checks on the topic: The agencies to the facts and Estadão Check carried out checks on the information from all of Tebet’s interviews with Jornal Nacional.
Still on elections, recently, Comprova proved to be false that Simone Tebet let a doctor be humiliated at the Covid CPI; what Twitter post suggesting João Amoêdo’s support for Lula is misleading is that it is false that foreign presenters made fun of Lula and Bahia voters.
Investigated by: Crusoé, Folha de S.Paulo, GaúchaZH and O Popular; Verified by: CBN Cuiabá, Uol and Piauí
Source: CNN Brasil
