Journalists William Bonner and Renata Vasconcellos showed it this Monday at Jornal Nacional (22) The most powerful technique to combat disinformation: the use of facts, data and resources that are already at stake.
Presenters interviewing President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PL) numbers, statistics, and excerpts from documents embedded in questionsto prevent any misinformation and to leave the interviewee no way out.
For those struggling with misinformation, Significant progress compared to what was seen in 2018. That year, the JN bench was tied up in the face of absurd themes like “gay team.”
But the weirdness of tonight’s interview, Bolsonaro’s failure to openly criticize former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvamain competitor in the electoral dispute.
Bolsonaro named PT candidate Lula only once and did not directly link him to corruption or crime, as his militants did. When answering a question on the matter, Bolsonaro did not hesitate to say that the former president could interfere with the PF. Only this. Lula passed unscathed in the eyes of those who expected harsh criticism from each other.
indisputable facts
Without any denial of Bolsonaro, it is worth remembering here the string of truths that the audience heard tonight.
For example, when asked about the economy, Bonner quoted a phrase uttered by the president in his 2018 campaign: “You said, ‘I know what people need: lower inflation, lower interest rates, and a lower dollar'”. Then the presenter listed three facts. “Interest rates have doubled. Inflation has more than doubled. And the dollar from R$3.90 is now over R$5”.
There was no way Bolsonaro could reject him. He should have renewed his promise four years ago and said that in a possible second term, the current economic policy would continue to run its course.
The facts were there. undisputed.
When dealing with the environment, Renata followed the same script. “Under your government, the annual rate of deforestation in the Amazon skyrocketed. It’s the highest in the last 15 years.” Then the presenter wanted to know if the presidential candidate would maintain his current environmental policy if re-elected.
Bolsonaro did not deny deforestation in the region. Not a bad index historically. He should have said that there are 30 million inhabitants living in the Amazon and that Brazil protects its lands more than any other developed country. Both data should be checked in the next few hours.
Regarding the alliance with the center parties, Bonner’s question revealed a contradiction that had to be made clear by Brazil’s affirmers. In 2018, the then Palácio do Planalto candidate said the following sentence, according to Bonner: “I do not integrate Centrão”. “I’ve always been from Centrão. I came from Centrão,” Bolsonaro said a few days ago.
The president tried to escape a lexical tangenta to indicate when voters should believe. “There was no Centrão in my time. There was no Centrão,” Bolsonaro said.
For those covering up disinformation, Influencing Bonner’s response to accusation of fabricating “fake news” When saying that the presidential candidate cursed a minister of the Supreme Court. This is not an easy accusation to refute, although it is fashionable in the mouth of former US President Donald Trump.
Bonner denied that he had lied. He recalled that Bolsonaro had called Minister Alexandre de Moraes “asshole” and eventually got the candidate to accept it.
When it comes to fighting disinformation, the only moment that leaves something to be desired is No video of Bolsonaro impersonating a person who is having trouble breathing due to covid-19.
Renata said the presidential candidate was recorded doing this staging, and Bolsonaro denied this, citing that the program was airing at this time. Stubborn traction would be strong. But the voter was left without him. There were dozens of versions of this episode on UOL.
Cristina Tardáguila is program director at ICFJ and founder of Lupa.
source: Noticias
