Researcher targeted by the Bolsonaro clan says he is afraid to work since a video containing fake news was released.

By Gisele Federicce - A researcher targeted by fake news spread since Tuesday (30) on Bolsonaro's networks is unable to work on the street for fear of his physical safety. “I have been unable to work since this video was released. Because I am [with my image] in Army groups, police groups…”, the victim of the false narrative, whose name will not be disclosed for security reasons, told 247. He says he agreed to talk to 247 because he believes that “the truth cannot lose to lies”.

Among the networks with the widest reach that spread the false story are those of Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro, the president's sons, who posted it on all their platforms, totaling more than 1 million views.

The video released by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro shows the beginning of a survey being conducted inside a commercial establishment in the city of Américo de Campos, in the interior of São Paulo, with approximately 6 inhabitants. The interviewer asks questions such as level of education and degree of interest in this year's elections. He also asks who the participant would vote for if the elections were held that day. 

The man answers “Bolsonaro.” Then, the researcher shows a disc with the candidates' names, repeats the question, and the man repeats “Bolsonaro.” At this point, the interviewer asks if he is being filmed and, upon receiving an affirmative answer, gathers his equipment and says, “Leave it, young man.” The voter asks: “What’s the big deal? It’s democracy.” The interviewer finishes the survey and leaves the location.

The false story spread by Bolsonaro's supporters was that the interview was interrupted as soon as the voter declared his vote for the president – ​​a way to discredit the polling institutes, which show the candidate for re-election at a disadvantage compared to former president Lula. "The video is clear and shows that I interrupted the poll when I learned I was being recorded, not when he answered that he would vote for Bolsonaro," explains the researcher.

“Let’s make him famous, look at the level of corruption in data collection, in these pseudo-surveys…”, says one of the posts. “Why does Bolsonaro lose in the Globo Network polls (Ipec, DataFolha, Quaest)? Because it’s Lula’s own voters who do it!”, states another. “Sausage and polls, two things that if people knew how they were done they wouldn’t consume,” wrote Eduardo Bolsonaro.

The researcher criticized the fact that the company responsible for the research, the FSB Institute, did not offer him any support or legal backing. The company sent the following statement to 247 regarding the episode: "The FSB Institute has no direct link with the interviewer, who is hired as a freelancer by one of our partners. The FSB Institute was informed of the incident by the partner, and the partner provided support to the professional" (read the full statement at the end of the article).

The interviewer explains that he works independently with all research institutes and that he is "completely neutral, serious, and impartial" while conducting the interviews. He further states that, right at the beginning of the questionnaire with the voter, he reads the confidentiality terms of that research, informing them that the answers are confidential and will be kept secret – something that a recording would prevent.

Both FSB and the Brazilian Association of Research Companies (Abep) state that the recommended course of action when a respondent is being recorded is to inform them that they do not authorize the recording, politely ask them to stop, and if they refuse, interrupt the questions. In this case, the interview is discarded from the survey.

"I'm just waiting for them to kill an interviewer in the street."

The researcher targeted by the fake news reports that the atmosphere is tense in this year's elections. “This is happening to many of my colleagues. People are being aggressive; they threw ketchup at a friend of mine in Rio de Janeiro. They're afraid to go out on the street. The situation is worse in smaller cities,” he says. “I was the victim of the moment,” he assesses. “I'm just waiting for them to kill an interviewer in the street. It's a war,” he adds.

He says he has a lawyer friend who will file a petition with the Supreme Court to remove the posts from social media and claims to have discovered who recorded his interview. "This guy posts all sorts of [fake news] on Facebook, and he's being sued for it."

Since this is an internal company audit, and its results will not be made public, there is no record of it at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

FSB's position

The FSB Institute has no direct link with the interviewer, who is hired as a freelancer by one of our partners. The FSB Institute was informed of the incident by the partner, and the partner provided support to the professional.

Regarding the recording of the interviewer's image during electoral research, it should be clarified that this constitutes sensitive personal data, as it may pose a risk of discrimination to its owner by identifying them and potentially making them the target of embarrassment or violence due to their profession, as per paragraph 1 of article 11 of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD). Furthermore, according to the LGPD, this type of data – sensitive personal data – can only be collected with the express consent of its owner, and therefore, without the interviewer's authorization to record their image, it should not have been captured or disclosed.

Therefore, the interviewer acted correctly in ending the interview, regardless of the interviewee's political orientation.