Video of Atlético Mineiro fans cursing Lula is from 2016

To discredit opinion polls that show Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) as the leader in the intentions to vote for president in the 2022 elections, groups on social networks spread a 2016 video in which Atlético Mineiro fans insult the politician moments before of a football match. The legend invents that Lula would have gone to a game of Galo against América, in November of this year, at the Mineirão Stadium, in Belo Horizonte, and witnessed the cursing, which is not true.

Projeto Comprova found the same recording circulating since March 2016 and found that it was made during a match between Galo and Chilean club Colo-Colo, in the Copa Libertadores da América. The game was played at Arena Independência, which is also in the capital of Minas Gerais.

At the time, former president Dilma Rousseff (PT) was facing protests and had just nominated Lula for the post of chief minister of the Civil House, which was interpreted by the courts as an attempt to grant privileged forum to her party colleague. Another issue in evidence was a tapped conversation between Lula and Dilma, made public that night by former judge Sergio Moro.

Atletico’s match against América, mentioned in the post, took place at Estádio Mineirão —and not at Arena Independência— on November 7 of this year. There is no record that Lula has attended any of these events.

The author of the post was contacted, but did not respond. Comprova classified the content as false because it was edited to change its original meaning and was deliberately released to spread a lie.

How do we check?

Comprova started the check looking for information in the video that could indicate where and when it was made and divided the content into several frames with the help of the InVID tool.

The fans’ shirts confirm that it was a Clube Atlético Mineiro match, and the structure of the stadium was similar to Independência, in Belo Horizonte, which belongs to América Futebol Clube.

Despite the low video resolution, it is possible to quickly view the stadium screen while the camera is moving. Atlético Mineiro’s emblem appears first, indicating that it was the home team, while the second resembles that of Chilean club Colo-Colo.

With this tip, Comprova searched for keywords on Google and found a text published in a blog of the magazine Look which contained a link to a 2016 YouTube video that shows Galo fans taunting former President Lula more than five years ago at a different spot in the stadium.

Among the results suggested by YouTube was another recording, identical to the one in the analyzed post and dated March 18, 2016.

The report also found the same video posted on Facebook the day before, on March 17, 2016, but was unable to determine the authorship of the footage.

Finally, Comprova sought information about Atlético Mineiro’s matches against Colo-Colo, in 2016, and the context of the time in news. He also researched the games between Rooster and America in 2021, and what polls say so far.

The report contacted the press office of former president Lula, who responded by text message. The same was done with the profile that spread the fake content on the internet, but this did not return Comprova’s inquiries.

Verification

old recording

The video that is being shared on social media as if it were recent was recorded in 2016 and circulated on the internet since that time.

Atlético Mineiro and Colo-Colo faced each other on March 16 of that year, at Arena Independência, in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores da América, with a 3-0 victory for the Brazilian team. The colors of the uniforms are compatible with those shown in the video — Atlético played in white and Colo-Colo in black.

Another indication that this is that Atlético game against the Chilean team is a piece of news in the newspaper O Tempo, from Belo Horizonte. “The beginning of the game between Atlético and Colo-Colo, on Wednesday night, for the Copa Libertadores, was marked by shouts of protest against the PT, President Dilma and ex-President Lula”, informs the publication, highlighting the fact that a state deputy was harassed by fans before the event started.

At the beginning of the transmission of the match on Fox Sports, reproduced by a YouTube channel, a chorus of curses is heard, performed by part of the Rooster’s fans.

Context

On the date of the match between Atlético and Colo-Colo, then president Dilma had announced the appointment of former president Lula for the post of chief minister of the Civil House.

Planalto claimed that the purpose of the measure was to help rebuild the political base in Congress and stop the impeachment process, but opponents saw in the movement a way of conferring privileged jurisdiction on the politician, with the aim of escaping the purview of the task force of Lava Jato, in Curitiba.

Lula was not yet a defendant in any criminal action by Lava Jato, but he was definitely under the operation’s sights. Earlier this month, former judge Sergio Moro had authorized a coercive conduct by the Federal Police to take a statement from the former president amid the investigations.

On the same day as Lula’s appointment to the Civil House, on the night of March 16, Moro broke the secrecy and released a wiretap of a telephone conversation between Lula and Dilma. In the recording, she tells Lula that she would send a “term of investiture” for the PT leader to use “in case of need”.

These episodes stimulated a new wave of protests across the country against the PT. Some of them were registered in football stadiums — in addition to part of the Galo fans, another that registered demonstrations was Athletico Paranaense, with some fans taking masks and banners in support of Moro, in the same week.

The magistrate’s decision to publicize an unauthorized recording of the president of the Republic generated controversy and was contested by Planalto. He later apologized to the STF (Supreme Federal Court), in a request for clarification from the Court. On the other hand, Moro has already publicly declared that he does not regret the decision, considering that the leaked conversations were not “Republican”.

Lula was even sworn in as chief minister of the Civil House, but the appointment was suspended in less than two days by Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the STF, who understood that there was a misuse of the measure’s purpose. The PT member was later convicted by the courts in the cases of the Atibaia farm and the Guarujá triplex and was imprisoned for 580 days.

Lula was released with the Supreme Court decision that prohibited his arrest after second instance, in November 2019, and his sentences were annulled when the Court declared that the 13th Federal Court in Curitiba was not competent to investigate him, in April of this year. In this way, the PT was eligible again.

Athletic x America

Posts showing insults against Lula at Atlético Mineiro’s game began to go viral again in November this year, hitching a ride with the most recent match between Galo and América, Minas Gerais’ opponents. The longer-range version was shared on the 15th, and claimed that the recording had been made when Lula “risked and went to watch Atlético MG X America, last Sunday in Belo Horizonte”.

This year, Galo and Coelho faced each other five times:

• Atlético 3 x 1 America, for the Mineiro Championship, on 4/4/2021
• América 0 x 0 Atlético, for the Mineiro Championship, on 5/16/2021
• Atlético 0 x 0 América, for the Mineiro Championship, on 5/22/2021
• America 0 x 1 Atlético, for the Brazilian Championship, on 7/10/2021
• Atlético 1 x 0 América, for the Brazilian Championship, on 11/07/2021

The only game that could fit the description would be the most recent, for the 30th round of the Brazilian Championship. It turns out that the game was played at the Mineirão Stadium, and not at Independência.

Both are in Belo Horizonte, but the structure is quite different. Independência has a rectangular shape, with well-defined corners and an empty side, without stands behind the screen, and has a capacity for 23 thousand fans. Mineirão has a more classic, oval design and houses up to 62 thousand people.

Contrary to what the rumor claims, there is no record that Lula watched the game between Atlético and América, on November 7, in Belo Horizonte. The PT’s social networks did not mention any agenda on that date, just released a video about the week’s events.

Comprova contacted the former president’s press office via WhatsApp, who replied: “Unfortunately political groups have used fake news and disinformation against former president Lula, not contributing to a democratic public debate.” For the checking agencies Lupa and Aos Fatos, which investigated the same content before, the press office also denied that he attended the event.

Researches

Since regaining political rights, Lula has been at the forefront in successive polls of intention to vote for the Presidency of the Republic, which will be disputed in 2022. On November 10 of this year, the PT candidate totaled 48% of the preference of 2,063 people interviewed by Genial/Quaest, against 21% obtained by the current president, Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The former president was victorious in two run-off simulations, one against Bolsonaro; another against former judge Sergio Moro, pre-candidate for Podemos. The survey was carried out between November 3rd and 6th, with a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points and a confidence level of 95%.

The latest Datafolha survey, released on September 17, 2021, also showed the PT leader ahead of Bolsonaro, with 44% to 26%, respectively. In this survey, carried out between September 13 and 15, with the participation of 3,667 people from 190 Brazilian municipalities, Lula appeared first in the second round simulations.

According to Datafolha, Lula had 56% of the voters’ preference in the simulation of the second stage of the dispute, against 31% for the current president. This is the percentage mocked in the fake post checked by Comprova.

Poder360’s electoral and opinion polling division, PoderData, reflects a scenario similar to that presented by Datafolha. The latest survey, carried out from November 22 to 24, shows that Lula and Jair Bolsonaro remain isolated in 1st and 2nd place in an eventual 1st round for 2022. Depending on the tested scenario, the PT member scores from 34% to 36% of voting intentions . Bolsonaro already scores from 27% to 29%. Interviews were conducted by telephone.

Why do we investigate?

In its fourth phase, the Comprova Project investigates suspicious content about the pandemic, federal government and elections. The publication verified here was shared 33 thousand times on Facebook, accounting for 6,300 reactions, and the video reached 415,000 views in about a month. In Brazil and around the world, it is common for football stadiums and other sports venues to echo the political moods of the moment.

By playing a 2016 video and claiming that it is content from 2021, the author of the post induces other users to have a false perception of what happens in the period that precedes a year of presidential dispute.

The disinformation piece cites Datafolha in a panorama in which the research institute linked to Folha de S. Paulo — a newspaper constantly attacked by president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) — is one of those that shows the former president ahead in voting intentions in race to the Planalto Palace.

Comprova has already concluded that it is false that the Washington Post has published a headline praising Bolsonaro; and verified that an opinion text criticizing former judge Sergio Moro was signed by a political scientist, without representing the opinion of The New York Times. He also explained how a photo was taken out of context to suggest an alliance between senator Renan Calheiros and the minister of the Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes.

False, for Comprova, is content that has been invented or has been edited to change its original meaning and deliberately disclosed to spread a lie.

Comprova performed this verification based on information available on the 7th of Decemberof 2021.