‘Faz o L’ in photo of banner at gas station is montage – 07/03/2023 – Market

The image that went viral on social networks showing a banner at a gas station with the words “Dear customers, the price of fuel has gone up because of government taxes. You who made the ‘L’: complain to the PT” is false. .

“Faz o L” refers to the expression used during last year’s election campaign by supporters of then-candidate Lula, who was elected president. But the photo, verified by Projeto Comprova, is old, from 2015, and the text was digitally modified. Originally, the banner read “Dear customers, the price of fuel has gone up because of government taxes. Complain to Dilma”.

The image was taken at a service station in the city of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, according to a report on the A Rede website available on YouTube, In February 2015, gasoline cost R$3.35 at the establishment in question and had risen in price due to to the increase in PIS and Cofins taxes, announced in January of that year by Joaquim Levy, then Minister of Finance in the Dilma Rousseff government. The content of A Rede was replicated by other sites, such as Correio.

Federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) posted the same fake image on his Instagram account on March 3, 2023, as reported by O Globo and Carta Capital. The photo has since been deleted by the parliamentarian.

Both the post verified by Comprova and the one made by Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro aim to hold the PT responsible for the increase in fuel prices as a result of the reenactment applied by the federal government since last March 1st.

False, for Comprova, is content that was invented or that has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disseminated to spread a falsehood.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. On Twitter, the verified post had 556k views, 28.9k likes and 4.7k retweets.

What the person responsible for the publication says

The report contacted Luiz Galeazzo, responsible for the OiLuiz profile, via Instagram, but there was no response until the publication of this content.

How do we check

First, Google reverse search was used to identify where this image and similar ones were published. Thus, it was possible to see that the photo, both the original and the adulterated version, had already circulated on the internet at different times.

The first publication took place in 2015, when there was an increase in PIS and Cofins taxes during the Dilma Rousseff government. A video article on the A Rede website, which covers the region of Ponta Grossa, in Paraná, shows the location and the banner, in addition to an interview with the establishment’s manager. The images aired on February 4, 2015. At the time, the same video information was replicated on other sites.

We also researched reports on rising and falling fuel prices.

rise in prices

On February 28, the Lula government (PT) announced that it would resume charging federal taxes on gasoline and ethanol as of March 1. The rates had been zeroed by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in June 2022, “in an attempt to bring down the price at the pumps on the eve of the election”, as reported by the Sheet.

With the PT administration’s decision, the PIS/Cofins rate on gasoline rose to R$0.47 and, on ethanol, R$0.02.

Still according to Sheet, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), justified the increase by saying it was important to recompose the Federal Budget. “Since before taking office, we have had a clear objective, which is basically to recompose the public budget, from the point of view of expenditure and from the point of view of revenue. The PEC [proposta de emenda à Constituição] of the Transition was approved precisely to guarantee the commitments signed last year [do lado das despesas]”, he said.

What can we learn from this check

First, the doctored photo directly attacks Lula’s voters, not the PT government, and posts that go viral with hateful messages should raise doubts in us. From this doubt, we should try to do a quick investigation about the content, which, in this case, would start with an analysis of the photo. When looking more closely at the image, it is possible to see, without the need for any tools, that it has been tampered with in the lower part, with blurred parts. It’s two simple steps — doubting attacks that go viral and analyzing the photo more carefully — that prevent misinformation from spreading.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp 11 97795-0022. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

Comprova has already verified other content about the rise in fuel prices, such as the post that deceives when comparing the increase in gasoline and the Bolsonaro family’s assets based on inaccurate data and the audio that lies when claiming to be the voice of Aldo Rebelo (PDT) blaming Lula for rising values.

The investigation of this content was carried out by Folha and A Gazeta and published on March 7 by Projeto Comprova, a coalition that brings together 41 vehicles to check viral content. It was verified by Estadão, NSC, Correio Braziliense and AFP.