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With a week to go before the second round of the Brazilian elections, the electoral tribunal intensifies its battle against “fake news”. It expands its power to act ex officio and toughens the fines for sharing false information and the deadline to withdraw them.
By RFI correspondent in Rio de Janeiro
“In WhatsApp family groups, soccer groups, we continually receive messages and we realize, it is clear that they are lies, but people continue to transmit them and end up harming the result of the election,” deplores a voter consulted with RFI.
“The current president who is the king of ‘fake news’, Jair Bolsonaro,” adds another young Brazilian.
Jair Bolsonaro affirms that Lula da Silva will free abortion, drugs, will teach sexuality in schools where he will impose a unisex bathroom. Although the former president distances himself from these projects, a large part of the population believes it.
“And we see that there are many lies in relation to the two”, another voter agrees.
“Everything they talk about against Bolsonaro, for me it’s all ‘fake news,'” says a voter at the RFI microphone.
Bolsonaro’s followers, encouraged by himself, complain of intentional persecution by the justice system and, above all, of censorship.
“If we stop expressing ourselves on social networks, what will become of us? We are going to become Cuba, Venezuela”, warns another Brazilian voter.
“I think that they are going to turn against them and they are bringing many more votes for Bolsonaro, indirectly with that,” says a convinced voter.
Lula da Silva admits that his campaign was not prepared for a well-designed ‘fake news’ operation and the expected margin of victory in his favor narrows every time a new poll comes out.
Off-campaign incident
A former congressman ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired shots and threw grenades at police officers, wounding two, in a failed attempt to prevent his arrest, authorities said Sunday.
Bolsonaro immediately condemned the armed attack and distanced himself from the former legislator, whom he called a “bandit” and denied allegations that he coordinates his campaign for re-election.
Former deputy Roberto Jefferson faced a jail order from the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for failing to comply with the terms of his house arrest, after attacking the magistrate of the highest court Cármen Lúcia on social networks.
But for eight hours he barricaded himself in his house in the city of Levy Gasparian, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and confirmed in a video posted on networks that he fired, although allegedly with no intention of injuring the agents.
The Federal Police indicated that Jefferson offered resistance using “firearms and explosives”, but was finally arrested at night, “after intense negotiation”.
Two policemen “were injured by shrapnel from a grenade thrown” by the former legislator, but received medical attention and are in good condition, according to the PF, which reinforced the police presence at the scene.
Jefferson was transferred to a police station and will also face investigations for attempted murder, added the PF.
The head of state, who had sent his Justice Minister, Anderson Torres, to the scene, repudiated the “armed action” and expressed solidarity with the wounded.
with AFP
