It is false that Lula is implementing unisex bathrooms in the country – 05/29/2023 – Power

It is false that Lula is implementing unisex bathrooms in the country – 05/29/2023 – Power


It is false that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is putting into practice a plan to implement unisex bathrooms in the country, contrary to what the video that went viral on social networks suggests. The disinformation piece uses images of men and women sharing a collective bathroom to convey the message that the Lula government will make all bathrooms in Brazil unisex.

As verified by Projeto Comprova, there is no information about the origin of the video, nor about the place and date it was recorded, but the allegation is not true. To the report, the MDHC (Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship), through the National Secretariat for the Rights of LGBTQIA+ People, communicated “that there is no initiative in this direction underway”. There is also no information about it in the news of press vehicles dedicated to following public policies of the federal government.

This is not the first time the topic has come up. During the run-up to the 2022 elections, Lula was heavily attacked by opponents who sought to associate him with unisex bathrooms. On October 19 of last year, at the launch event of the letter to evangelical voters, the politician, candidate at the time, commented on the accusations against him.

“Now they invented the story of the unisex bathroom. Guys, I have a family, I have a daughter, I have granddaughters, I have a great-granddaughter. The story of a unisex bathroom could only have come from Satan’s head”, said the PT candidate at the time. The accusation was also denied by Lula in an interview with Flow Podcast.

Checking initiatives, such as UOL Confere, denied that the PT government program provided for unisex bathrooms in schools.

Still in the midst of the electoral period, the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) determined the removal of excerpts from a live by then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) on YouTube, in which he stated that his political opponent and the PT would be in favor of releasing the drugs, abortion and the implementation of genderless bathrooms in educational institutions. The injunction also ordered the deletion of a post on Twitter made by singer Roberto de Souza Rocha, the Latino, with similar insinuations.

Lula had already established a position on the subject. In August of the same year, she released a note due to the circulation of false content about it: “Beware of lies to scare adults. Unisex bathrooms are fake news! Lula is in favor of separate bathrooms and uncut education.”

Also in 2022, Antra (National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals) released a statement in which it informs that “this is not a real demand from trans or NB (non-binary) people” and that “the false controversy surrounding unisex bathrooms meets the needs of yearnings of people who act against LGBTQIA+ rights at all times”.

In its positioning, Antra also points out that, after cases of misinformation related to “gay kit”, “gender ideology” and “erotic baby bottles” —subjects that were the subject of Comprova checks—, once again an enemy is created common in order to criminalize, especially, trans people and NB.

“Proposals, of a purely electoral nature, which use anti-trans panic to gain notoriety, continue to appear and are defended as if they were true.”

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. Until May 29, 2023, the post on Kwai had 1,100 views and was also circulated on WhatsApp, an application in which it is not possible to identify the viralization. On Twitter, a similar publication, with the same video, accumulated 57.7 thousand views.

How do we check

First, we searched for the keywords “Squid”, “video”, “unisex bathroom”. The search returned reports that denied the statement made in the verified post and cited Lula’s contrary position in relation to the supposed measure (UOL Confere, O Globo, UOL, Metrópoles and Jota).

Next, we did a reverse image search through InVID and found other publications of the same content on Twitter, but we were unable to reach the original video.

By the @ that appears in the video as a watermark, accompanied by the TikTok logo, we arrive at the profile of a user who would apparently be responsible for disseminating the content for the first time. In that user’s feed, however, the video was not located. He also did not respond to the contact made by Comprova by private message.

We also did searches for keywords within the social networks themselves, but no relevant results were found.

Finally, we contacted the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC) and the author of the viral post.

What the publisher says

Comprova sent private messages to the author of the post on Kwai (Canal-2021) and to the profile @vadypereira on TikTok, who signs the content. There was no response until the publication of this check. After contact, @vadypereira’s profile became unavailable.

What can we learn from this check

The disinformation piece uses video out of context to suggest that the government is implementing unisex restrooms. At no time, however, does the post state where or on what date the images in question were taken.

Always be suspicious when the author of content makes an accusation without providing context or citing sources. Do a Google search for keywords related to the topic and try to find out about the issues addressed by professional communication vehicles.

If there were, in fact, implementation of unisex bathrooms in the country as a government policy, this would be reported by the press.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content posted 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 +55 11 97045-4984. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

Issues involving gender issues have already been the target of other Comprova checks. Recently, the project showed that the video in which Fernando Haddad announces a program to help trans people is from 2015 and that the ordinance mentioned in a misleading tweet does not address sex reassignment surgeries.

In 2020, it was found that it is not true that the vaccine against covid-19 causes cancer, genetic damage or “homosexuality” and, in 2018, that Haddad did not say that the government should decide the gender of children.

The investigation of this content was carried out by Portal Norte and Grupo Sinos, published on May 29 by Projeto Comprova, a coalition that brings together 41 vehicles to check viral content. It was verified by Folha, UOL, A Gazeta, Estadão and Correio Braziliense.





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