Government uses official press channel to publicize Janja’s live: mistake, said

The Presidency of the Republic used an official WhatsApp transmission list for communication with the press to publicize, this Thursday (29), a live broadcast by First Lady Janja Lula da Silva on her personal profile in the late afternoon.

The communication channel is normally only used to inform the press about the official agenda of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and government announcements.

The “notices” were sent to journalists at two times: at 12:37 pm and at 6:12 pm, when the live was already on the air. The Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) said that the use was a “mistake” and that the practice “will not be repeated”.

“Guys, passing by to let you know that today at 6 pm (sic) we will have another live from Papo de Respect with a super special guest: Nath Finance. The subject is very important: the indebtedness of Brazilians and the Desenrola Brasil program, which will benefit 70 million Brazilians”, said one of the messages. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad also participated in part of the live.

This week’s “Papo de Respect” was the second edition of a program created by Janja for social networks in March, using the structure of TV Brasil, the public communication vehicle of EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação). At the time, the transmission generated criticism and ended up in court, which determined explanations for the use of an official channel.

TV Brasil said, regarding the live in March, that it only “fulfilled the contract for the provision of services signed with the Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), which provides for live transmissions based on defined demand”. The company also stated that the first lady is not a presenter of any program on the station.

Secom did not comment at the time, and was contacted now for using the official WhatsApp broadcast list to publicize this week’s live.

“This WhatsApp channel is a relationship and outreach group for journalists that already existed during the transition. Various information and materials are shared in the community, including links to interviews that also take place on unofficial channels. Anyway, it was a mistake and the practice will not be repeated”, said Secom in a note to People’s Gazette.