Video in which Alckmin and Moraes are harassed is from 2016 and was recorded at USP – 04/12/2023 – Politics

A video that shows the Vice President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin, and the Minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Alexandre de Moraes being surrounded and booed by a crowd, supposedly in a restaurant in Brasília, is misleading. One of the publications quotes: “It’s to promote. Geraldo Alckmin and Alexandre de Moraes together in a restaurant, they are almost lynched in Brasilia. They will NOT have peace!!!”.

The original video, whose excerpt went viral out of context, as verified by Projeto Comprova, was recorded in February 2016, in downtown São Paulo, by TVT, during a public act held by students to denounce the violence of the Military Police. Coincidentally, while the protesters were preparing the act, in front of the USP Law School (University of São Paulo), in Largo São Francisco, the then governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin, and the, at the time, secretary of Public Security of São Paulo , Alexandre de Moraes, participated, in the same place, in the inauguration ceremony of Dimas Ramalho as president of the TCE-SP (Court of Auditors of São Paulo).

The confusion started when the demonstrators tried to talk to Geraldo Alckmin, who ignored them.

As reported by Sheet and by UOL, on the occasion, Alckmin and Moraes were escorted from the scene. On the way to the car, the students shouted “murderer” and “governor, where’s the lunch?”, in reference, respectively, to the deaths caused by the PM in São Paulo and the investigations of deviations in school meals that involved members of the administration and politicians of PSDB.

Misleading, for Comprova, is 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. Until April 10, the publication on Twitter had 38.7 thousand views, 1.9 thousand likes and 589 shares. On TikTok, the post reached 6,300 views, 856 likes, 77 comments and 369 shares.

How do we check

First, we searched Google for the keywords “Alckmin”, “Moraes” and “hostilizados”, which resulted in checks from other fact-checking agencies, such as UOL Confere, Lupa, AFP Checamos, Estadão Verify, Aos Fatos and Reuters .

When watching the video, we noticed that in the upper left corner there was the logo of TVT. Searching for the term “TVT” on Google, we arrived at the YouTube channel of Rede TVT, which presents itself as “an educational communication vehicle”. In this channel, we use the search field to search for “Alckmin” and “Moraes”.

Having clues that the investigated video was old, we scrolled the page with the results until we found a publication made seven years ago, which cited the words “Alckmin” and “protest”. The title was this: “In protest against PM, demonstrators face Alckmin”. When watching the original video, we identified an excerpt with the scenes used in the disinformation piece, which starts at 38 seconds.

Finally, Comprova sought out those responsible for misleading publications on social networks.

What the person responsible for the publication says

The viral posts were published by @9876mel on Twitter and @jral2010 on TikTok. The account responsible for the publication on the first platform does not contain contact information, and the search for the profile on other social networks did not return any results. However, on April 4, the user stated in a publication that she knows that the video is old, but that the “intention is to show that both [Alckmin e Moraes] been together for a long time, supposedly always up to something and were never well liked by the population”.

As TikTok does not allow contact between accounts that do not follow each other, Comprova found a corresponding user profile on Instagram and forwarded a message. There was no response until the publication of this check.

What can we learn from this check

It is common for old videos that have gone viral for a long time to be exploited by disseminators of misinformation. They are used out of context, usually in an attempt to deceptively suggest that a particular episode has occurred recently. Another tactic employed is the use of videos with low image quality, which make it difficult to identify the people and the location shown in the content.

In the case of content with these characteristics, a Google search can help identify the date and original context of the video, and discover whether the information is current or outdated.

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 also verified by UOL Confere, Lupa, AFP Checamos, Estadão Verify, Aos Fatos and Reuters.

Comprova has already checked pieces of disinformation that use old videos to misleadingly suggest that a given episode occurred recently. This is the case of verifications that show that men dancing to the tune of “Infiel” are not Lula’s ministers and that the Navy did not penalize the president for authorizing Iranian ships in Brazil.

The investigation of this content was carried out by Plural Curitiba, Grupo Sinos and imirante.com and published on April 11 by Projeto Comprova, a coalition that brings together 41 vehicles to check viral content. It was verified by Folha, Estadão, O Popular and NSC.