Online dirty tricks in Brazil presidential race?
October 19, 2018
Haddad made his allegations on Thursday after the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported that wealthy Bolsonaro supporters had paid for messaging via third-party companies.
The paper said the agencies had spent up to 12 million reais ($3.26 million, €2.85 million) on "blast messaging" adverts attacking Haddad and his left-wing Workers' Party (PT).
Haddad asked Brazil's top court and the country's electoral commission to investigate the allegation of illegal undisclosed funding. He said he had leads to follow, without naming names, and also said that illegally bought ads had been used ahead of the October 7 first round, from which he and Bolsonaro progressed to the head-to-head vote set for October 28.
In addition, Haddad alleged that companies were poised to release a barrage of WhatsApp messages, spreading "fake news" about himself and PT.
Read more: Brazil elections: Mistrust, anger driving voters to polls
"There has been a criminal organization of businessmen which used illegal campaign financing to promote this candidacy and tamper with the election in the first round. And they want to do it again in the runoff," Haddad said. "We estimate that hundreds of thousands of messages, all fake, were sent to voters to suggest they voted for my rival."
'No evidence of connection'
Bolsonaro's lawyer, Tiago Ayres, told the financial daily Valor there was no evidence of a connection between Bolsonaro's campaign and the companies mentioned by Folha de Sao Paulo.
Denying the accusation in a tweet, Bolsonaro said Haddad's PT "isn't being hurt by fake news, but by the TRUTH."
On Monday, however, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to delete six posts aimed at Haddad from his Facebook and YouTube accounts, calling the posts a "difusion of misinformation." The posts alleged that during his time as education minister from 2005-2012, Haddad had encouraged young children to become homosexual by distributing dubious teaching materials. PT had called the posts a "serious lie."
Read more: Brazil's presidential election: Mired in crisis, headed for autocracy?
The far right's social media skills
The row came 10 days before the runoff election between Haddad and Bolsonaro. Social media has been an important tool in Brazil's battle for the presidency, and it is one that operates on multiple levels.
Marco Aurelio Ruediger, the director of public policy analysis at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, an independent Brazilian think tank, told DW that closed social networks such as WhatsApp are used to mobilize a party's own supporters through propaganda materials.
"If this content then spills over into larger, open networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, its reach becomes significantly larger, enabling it to take on new dimensions," the sociologist said.
Far-right candidate Bolsonaro has been much more active over social media networks, and hundreds of nationwide WhatsApp groups support him. The social media-savvy, divisive figure is often compared to US President Donald Trump, not least because both share a penchant for provocative Tweets that use simple statements.
When it comes to social media, Bolsonaro's opponents "missed the boat," Ruediger explained, adding that when they did finally turn to social media, they weren't as successful at using it. For instance, whereas the far right has virtual groups that actively fight information attacks from their opponents, Haddad and his supporters do not have anything comparable.
Bolsonaro on track to beat Haddad
The 63-year-old Bolsonaro, who is predicted to win the October 28 vote comfortably, is a veteran lawmaker who was a military captain during Brazil's military dictatorship, which ended in 1985. He has largely spurned traditional media outlets, opting to reach out to voters via his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Haddad, who is a former education minister and mayor, has sought to debate Bolsonaro in a televised clash. Bolsonaro, recovering after a stabbing attack at a political rally last month, has so far skipped such showdowns on medical advice.
Bolsonaro's national-conservative Social Liberal Party confirmed on Thursday that its candidate would not be taking part in debates against his rival before the runoff vote. During a video appearance on Facebook Live, Bolsonaro lifted up his shirt and displayed his colostomy bag, saying doctors had advised him that he risked medical complications if subjected to excessive strain.
Thomas Milz contributed reporting from Brazil.
rc/msh (dpa, AFP)