PT launches booklet to combat “fake news” about the party in the 2024 elections

The party of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) launched a booklet to guide members to “combat the lies that are used as a political tool against the PT and its members” in the 2024 municipal elections. A “Casa 13″ Portal was also created ” to receive reports of “misinformation”.

“The PT initiative has already received thousands of complaints from across the country and has become an important tool in the fight against disinformation in recent years”, explains the party in the booklet.

The document presents guidelines on how to create a “municipal center to combat fake news” and suggests enabling an exclusive WhatsApp account for this purpose. The party member must publish the number on social media and “summon” people to “report lies about the PT or about representatives” of the party. Upon receiving the allegations, the PT reinforces that the party member must “publicly deny them, with the help of the legal department, if applicable.”

In the booklet, the party also gives tips and teaches step-by-step instructions for “identifying fake news”, how to check the relationship between a headline and the content and the contextualization of the image with the headline.

“Remember the story that the Bolsonaro supporters invented saying that the army was working on crossing the São Francisco River thanks to Bolsonaro? The photo that was circulating was in a false context; it was from the Dilma government”, the party quotes in the booklet. However, news about the transposition has already turned into a rivalry between supporters of Lula and former president Jair Bolsonaro, as shown in a report by Gazeta do Povo.

And to “deny fake news”, the party recommends that videos be made with “evidence denying the rumours”. “Expose the lies and reinforce the request to supporters: if you receive a rumor on the networks, do not share or interact, report it to the Fake News Center. Also publicize it if legal measures are taken”, explains the PT.

When releasing the platform and booklet, the president of the PT, Gleisi Hoffmann, mentioned that the initiative is to combat the “lying machine” of the extreme right. “The country and its people are experiencing a moment of reconstruction and development. However, those responsible for the tragic previous government insist on resisting the new times. Without arguments, the extreme right continues with its lie machine”, says Gleisi.