misleading
A video that circulates without context is misleading, in which former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) talks about the economic crisis in the country and claims that the Union is bankrupt. The content suggests that the recording was “leaked” and that Lula would have admitted that the Workers’ Party (PT) would be responsible for Brazil’s debts. In fact, the excerpt was cut from a 2016 video in which Lula comments on Brazilian politics and economics to supporters and intellectuals. He criticizes the economic policy of his successor, Dilma Rousseff, but does not blame the PT for the crisis.
Investigated Content: Video 2 minutes and 40 seconds in which ex-president Lula talks about the economy in Brazil and says that the Union is broken. In the recording are inserted the subtitles “Leaked!” and “Lula assumes that PT broke the country”, implying that the speech had been recorded clandestinely.
Where it was published: TikTok, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Completion of the Test: The video in which former President Lula talks about the economic crisis in the country and the fall in the State’s investment power is misleading. The content, which is being released out of context, suggests that the recording was “leaked” and that Lula would have admitted that the PT was responsible for Brazil’s financial collapse.
The excerpt, in fact, was taken from a 1h17-long recording, made in 2016 during a meeting between the former president and supporters, and broadcast on Lula’s social networks. They are, therefore, public statements.
At the time, Lula criticized the tax exemption policy of Dilma Rousseff (PT), when she was president of the Republic, and pointed out several reasons for the instability in Brazil’s economy, such as the costs of Operation Car Wash – responsible for the PT’s subsequent arrest. – and the allocation of government credit and financing policies.
Comprova classifies as misleading all content taken from the original context and used in another in such a way that its meaning is altered.
Scope of publication: Comprova investigates the most far-reaching suspicious content on social networks. As of May 26, the publication had more than 438,000 interactions, including views, likes, comments and shares on TikTok.
What the author of the publication says: It was not possible to contact the person responsible for the post through TikTok because the platform does not allow sending messages. Comprova then searched for the author’s name on other social networks and found an Instagram profile that has content that coincides with those published on TikTok. A message was forwarded, but there was no response until the close of this check.
How we check: From a Google search for the keywords “Lula”, “exemption” and “PT broke the country”, Comprova found a check of the same content made by the Estadão Check.
Based on the material, we discovered that the fragment that went viral on social media is part of a video recorded on December 2, 2016 during a meeting of the former president with supporters.
At the time, the recording was broadcast live on Lula’s Facebook and the PT’s speech was reflected in the national press (Estadão and metropolises).
Comprova also sought the advice of the former president to clarify the context of the video, but there was no response.
The date
On December 2, 2016, a group of intellectuals and artists launched, in Rio de Janeiro, an “observatory of legality with Lula”, created with the aim of monitoring the legal proceedings against the former president.
Second article published on Lula’s websiteamong those present at the launch were singer Beth Carvalho, writer Fernando Moraes, then senator for the PT of Rio de Janeiro Lindbergh Farias and federal deputy Wadih Damous (PT-RJ).
After the speech of some people, the former president commented on the processes of Operation Car Wash, the economic situation in Brazil and its future in politics.
At the time, as reported by newspapers Estadão and metropolisesLula said that he was the person who could “resist this euphoria of judicial insanity” and also stated that he could be a candidate for the Planalto Palace in the following elections, in 2018.
The meeting lasted about 1h17 and was Streamed live on Lula’s Facebook.
Reasons cited by Lula for Brazil’s economic crisis
The excerpt verified by Comprova, which can be found between minutes 00:58:51 and 01:08:21 of the original video, begins with the following sentence said by the former president: “It was an exemption that meant R$ 500 billion to less inflow of money into the state vault. So the State is bankrupt, the Union.”
Based on the original recording, it is possible to affirm that Lula was referring to the exemption policy of his successor, Dilma Rousseff. The former president criticized the tax benefits granted to companies under her management, but did not explicitly blame her for the economic crisis.
This comment was not just an opinion held behind the scenes, as the investigated video suggests. Lula had already positioned himself on the subject even before the meeting, when she granted an interview to the French newspaper Liberationin July 2016 (article from the PT website). “Dilma recognizes that her policy of tax relief for companies, which reduced state revenue, went too far. Between 2011 and 2015, the state waived around R$500 billion. And, very serious fact, without demanding anything in exchange for patronage, ”he said.
In addition to the tax exemption policy, Lula mentioned other reasons for the crisis in the economy that are not shown in the excerpt of the video that went viral on social networks, according to which he attributed the problems only to his party, the PT. Among these causes, Lula cites Operation Car Wash: “Do they have any idea how much damage Operation Car Wash has already caused in this country’s economy? To that country’s GDP? They have an idea of how much unemployment [a Lava Jato] already caused?”, he spoke between minutes 01:12:01 and 01:12:14.
In May 2020, in a statement to Jovem Pan de Aracaju radio, in Sergipe, Lula said he believed that “the country just didn’t break because of the PT”. “Brazil is only standing because of the PT. I saw yesterday [Paulo] Guedes saying that the international reserves left by the PT will yield R$ 500 billion to the Treasury. If it wasn’t for that, the country wouldn’t be able to import a toothpick,” he said.
Why we investigate: Comprova investigates suspicious content that went viral on social media about the covid-19 pandemic, public policies of the federal government and presidential elections. The investigated content refers to a pre-candidate for the presidency of the country. Misleading information involving political actors does not contribute to the democratic process and violates the voter’s right to choose representatives based on true information.
Other checks on the topic: On May 13, the Estadão Check checked the content and concluded that the video was taken out of context and used in a way that misled the audience. Previously, Comprova showed that Jornal Nacional’s hunger series aired before the PT came to powerthat the Fies was created in the FHC government, not in the Lula administration is that Video deceives about BNDES loans in Lula government.
Source: CNN Brasil
