Jair Bolsonaro

Did the Brazilian military kill the leaders of the Red Command cartel in early December 2022, and prepare to "take over" the country? No, that's not true: The article circulating on social media that makes these claims contains multiple factual inaccuracies and recycled false claims. The claim appeared in an article published by thegatewaypundit.com on December 5, 2022 (archived here.)…

Does a photograph of a packed street in the city of Sao Paulo show thousands of Brazilians protesting against alleged voter fraud after the country's 2022 presidential election? No, that's not true: The picture is from a 2016 protest against corruption. The claim appeared in an Instagram post on November 13, 2022, with the title "Brazil is Doing This Correct…

Do allegedly discovered "dozens of boxes" with "zero Bolsonaro votes" offer evidence confirming election fraud in Brazil? No, that's not true: Brazil doesn't use paper ballots -- voters cast ballots electronically. The claim appeared a tweet (archived here) published on November 7, 2022. It said: Update from Brazilian leaders: Military audit of the election will now be released Wednesday. Dozens…

Did Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who recently lost his reelection bid in a fiercely contested runoff, declare martial law on November 2, 2022? No, that's not true: A fake presidential decree circulating on social media that makes this declaration does not exist. It bears an out-of-sequence number and is not in Brazil's official language of Portuguese. While Bolsonaro had not…

Does a social media video show narcotraffickers and Communists celebrating the election victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva In Brazil's presidential election? No, that's not true: The video clip shows street celebrations in Brazil from August 2019 following a court order. The claim appeared in an article and video (archived here) published by the InfoWars website on October 31,…

Did a video uploaded initially on TikTok by user @mihai.off show "20,000" bikers in Germany riding by the house of a 6-year-old boy with cancer? No, that's not true: While the story of a group of bikers riding past the home of a sickly German child to cheer him up is real, the video in this post displays several thousand…

Is a video of several trucks driving on a road and displaying Brazilian flags linked to the Canadian "Freedom Convoy" held in 2022? No, that's not true: The video was taken in May 2021 and shows a rally in support of Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil. Unlike the "Freedom Convoy," this video has nothing to do with a protest of…

Is the United States the only country on Earth that is protesting being on lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak? No, that's not true: There have been COVID-19 lockdown fueled protests around the world. There have been protests in France, Germany and Poland, Brazil, India and Australia, among others. A meme claiming that only Americans are protesting appeared as a post…

Was Italy's president shown on camera in a video crying over the toll that COVID-19 has taken on that country and decrying the lack of preparedness in the early stages of the coronavirus spread? No, that's not true. The video still shown in a Facebook post is not the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. Rather, it is actually a still…