As Brazil copes with floods, officials face another scourge: Disinformation
Experts say online campaigns have targeted the floods in Rio Grande do Sul with fake news aimed at discrediting Lula.
By Michael Fox
Published On 22 May 2024
22 May 2024
Florianopolis, Brazil – The floodwaters in southern Brazil lapped near rooftops, turning roads into rivers and engulfing entire towns. More than 2.3 million people have felt the effects of the rising waters. A total of 161 people have been confirmed dead, with more bodies expected to be found.
Officials have called the torrential rains and flooding in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul “the worst climate disaster” the area has ever seen. But they have said the tragedy is being amplified by another phenomenon: disinformation, intentionally designed to mislead.
Some articles, videos and posts claimed that the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had blocked shipments of aid and medicine to the region. Others said Lula deliberately slowed the arrival of supplies so he could present them in person. Still more asserted that government rescue workers were pulling out of southern Brazil, leaving residents to fend for themselves.
All three claims are false. But experts in media and political science told Al Jazeera that the disinformation has nonetheless continued to spread, often with real-world ramifications.
More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/22/as-brazil-copes-with-floods-officials-face-another-scourge-disinformation
