Letter to STF minister was invented by commentator, not written by drug dealer – 06/07/2023 – Politics

A post that circulates on social media with audio by commentator Caio Coppolla reading a letter allegedly written by a drug trafficking boss and addressed to STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister Edson Fachin is misleading. In fact, the letter, in which the alleged drug dealer thanks the “sensitivity towards the criminal class”, was invented by the commentator himself as a criticism of Fachin’s decision.

The information is in the original video, from JP News, from 2022. In the Coppolla Bulletin board, as verified by the Comprova Project, before reading the text, the commentator explains to the audience that he wrote it himself. This excerpt, however, was omitted from the pieces of disinformation that circulate with the phrase “national shame” in reference to the STF. In the comments, people ask “is it true?”.

The letter written by Coppolla praising the alleged drug dealer to the minister sought to ironically criticize decisions taken by the Supreme Court during the Covid-19 pandemic, involving PM (Military Police) actions in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and the situation of prisoners belonging to groups at risk of the coronavirus and held in overcrowded prisons.

Comprova classifies as misleading all content removed from the original context and used in another so that its meaning undergoes changes; that uses inaccurate data or that induces an interpretation different from the author’s intention; content that is confusing, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. By June 5, 2023, the post had accumulated 375,700 views on TikTok and 137,000 on Facebook. The videos were later deleted from the platforms.

How do we check

We did a search on Google for the keywords “letter”, “trafficker” and “minister of the STF”. The video with the original comment appeared at the top of the results page. Next, we watch the video, through which it is possible to understand that this is a letter invented by the commentator himself.

We also searched for content related to the court decisions mentioned at the opening of the comment and, finally, we contacted those responsible for the misleading posts.

Letter is invention of commentator

The letter from the alleged drug dealer addressed to the minister was, in fact, invented by Caio Coppolla. On May 31, 2022, an edition of the Boletim Coppolla segment, by JP News, was aired, in which the commentator criticizes Supreme Court decisions, especially Minister Edson Fachin, in the context of public security in Rio de Janeiro.

Before reading the letter, at minute 2:22 of the video, Coppolla confirms the authorship of the text. “I confess that my appreciation for good manners and above all my respect for our select audience prevent me from criticizing the position of certain authorities with due emphasis. Therefore, today I chose to vent my indignation at another form, imagining what a letter from a drug lord to Justice Edson Fachin of the STF would be like”.

The decisions of the Supreme Court

In the invented letter, Coppolla refers to several decisions of the STF in the scope of ADPF (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental) 635, known as “ADPF das Favelas”. Moved in November 2019 by the PSB, the action questions the public security policy in Rio de Janeiro.

Right at the beginning of reading the letter, the commentator says: “While certain jurists said that Covid was not habeas corpus, Your Excellency was sensitive to the criminal class and did the right thing. He released general with collective habeas corpus.”

Coppolla refers to a decision by Minister Edson Fachin who, in December 2020, determined that prisoners in the Covid-19 risk group who were serving sentences in the semi-open regime should be transferred to house arrest. Fachin’s decision, at the time, partially complied with a request by the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU), which requested the granting of a habeas corpus in favor of all persons arrested in places above their capacity, who were members of groups of risk of Covid and who had not committed crimes involving violence or serious threat.

Then, Coppolla claims that he read all 11 of Fachin’s suggestions “to reduce police lethality in communities dominated by my colleagues here in Rio de Janeiro”, in reference to a preliminary decision by the minister of June 2020, which restricted operations in communities in Rio during the pandemic. Operations were only allowed in exceptional cases, with immediate communication to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Two months later, the STF formed a majority and confirmed the decision, which remains in force.

In February 2022, the STF clarified the limits for police operations in Rio de Janeiro communities during the pandemic and determined that the government of Rio should forward to the Supreme Court, within 90 days, a plan with measures to reduce police lethality and control violations of rights humans by the security forces. The Supreme also established, among other measures, the creation of a judicial observatory on citizen police, within the scope of the National Council of Justice (CNJ); prioritizing investigations of incidents involving children and adolescents; the installation of GPS equipment and audio and video recording systems in agents’ vehicles and uniforms; and the prohibition of the use of a private home or property as an operational base for the security forces.

Fachin even met, in April this year, with the Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, and with the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Lindôra Araújo, to inform the PGR about the latest developments of the ADPF and clarify the delay of the government of Rio de Janeiro to install body cameras on security agents.

Who is Caio Coppolla?

He is a political commentator known for his conservative position and aligned with the policies of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

He worked at JP News until 2019, when he joined the CNN Brasil team on the Freedom of Opinion program. During his period on CNN, Coppolla mobilized for the impeachment of the STF minister and president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), Alexandre de Moraes.

Two years later, Coppolla was fired and returned to Jovem Pan to head the Boletim Coppolla section, which, according to the vehicle’s website, deals with politics, economics, justice, education, culture, health and behavior. He was fired again from JP News in October 2022, following the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

Currently, Coppolla is part of the fixed staff of the daily program O Grande Debate and commands the Boletim Coppolla on CNN Brasil. In the program, he talks about “behind the scenes of power, the main decisions of the government and the National Congress, in addition to bringing other analyzes on politics, economics and justice”, according to the CNN website.

What the publisher says

The report contacted the profile that posted the video on Facebook and Instagram, but did not receive a response until the publication of this check. It was not possible to contact @antoniocosta1962, who made the misleading post on TikTok, because the platform does not allow sending messages between accounts that do not follow each other. The search for the account name on other social networks returned some results, but as the TikTok profile does not have a photo or video that identifies the person responsible, it was not possible to find corresponding accounts.

What can we learn from this check

When you come across alarmist publications that use expressions such as “national shame” without mentioning the source of the information, be wary. It is also possible to ask: “If a drug lord had forwarded a letter to a minister of the Supreme Court, would the professional press not have reported the case?”

In the case of the verified post, a Google search with keywords related to the topic would be enough to find the original video and understand the context of the recording, which was omitted from the uninformative content.

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 +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

The same content was checked by the agency Aos Fatos. Comprova has already checked other publications involving judicial decisions and Brazilian ministers. Previously, for example, he showed that videos are misleading by stating that Justice authorized home invasions in Brazil and by saying that Minister Barroso wants to socialize Brazilian investments and that post takes TCU’s decision on jewelry received by Bolsonaro out of context.