If Estadão wanted to bring down Bolsonaro, it wouldn't support the reform.
"Bolsonaro decided to accuse Estadão of wanting to overthrow him. Just like that. The lack of ceremony and trivialization is astonishing: a president of the Republic goes to Twitter and simply states to his 3,4 million followers that a journalistic company – and also O Globo – are conspiring against his government," reinforces Alex Solnik, from Journalists for Democracy; "The strangest thing is that the three largest newspapers in Brazil, despite repeated attacks and even promises of economic retaliation, continue to support this government's pension reform. If they really wanted to overthrow him, they wouldn't support it."
By Alex Solnik, from Journalists for Democracy
I don't know what's more disgraceful: posting pornographic videos, saying that democracy exists when the military wants it to, or using fake news to discredit the press. But it's certain that all three actions undermine democracy.
Yesterday, Bolsonaro decided to accuse Estadão of wanting to overthrow him. Just like that. The lack of ceremony and trivialization is astonishing: a president of the Republic goes to Twitter and simply states to his 3,4 million followers that a journalistic company – and also O Globo – are conspiring against his government.
To support his accusation, he uses text from an allied blog called Terça Livre (it sounds like a Globo TV program, but it isn't). According to him, a reporter from Estadão newspaper allegedly "confessed" in a recording that she and her newspaper are working to undermine the Bolsonaro government.
It's clear she didn't say any of that. She only stated to a researcher studying parallels between Trump and Bolsonaro that the Queiroz case and other scandals are "ruining the Bolsonaro government." Not that she or the newspaper are working to ruin it.
The website manipulated his statement, and Bolsonaro shared it without first verifying its veracity. He then accused the newspaper of conspiracy and even involved O Globo in the story because the reporter's father works for the Marinho family's newspaper. One fake news story after another.
The backdrop to this latest attack against the press is to discredit the newspaper that revealed the Queiroz scandal and harshly criticized the government two days earlier.
Bolsonaro was already at war with Folha, and now he's added two more enemies to his list.
The strangest thing is that the three largest newspapers in Brazil, despite repeated attacks and even promises of economic retaliation, continue to support this government's pension reform.
If they really wanted to overthrow him, they wouldn't have supported him.
(Learn about and support the project) Journalists for Democracy)
* This is an opinion article, the responsibility of the author, and does not reflect the opinion of Brasil 247.