Readers demand an apology from Agência Lupa.
A post by Agência Lupa, run by Cristina Tardáguila, on Facebook, which published fake news against progressive websites, has generated outrage among its own readers, who are demanding an ethical stance and an apology; readers and followers of the fact-checking agency on social media are questioning its methods, interests, and, above all, the absence of a public retraction.
247 - A post by Agência Lupa on Facebook, which published fake news against progressive websites, has generated outrage among its own readers, who are demanding an ethical stance and an apology. Readers and followers of the fact-checking agency on social media are questioning its methods, interests, and, above all, the lack of a public retraction.
Read some of the reader comments that have been published. Post from the Agency on Facebook:
Emilia Lula M. de Morais A bad patch for an ugly slip-up!
This news agency, Lupa, labeled Jean Grabois's visit to Brazil as an emissary of Pope Francis's words to President Lula as fake news, and accused alternative bloggers of spreading false information. However, clearly false was the note published – and later corrected – by the dubious website "Vatican News," which, not long ago, had already circulated a denial, later also refuted, regarding Pope Francis's phone call to Marielle's family!
Up until now, this Lupa agency has not yet retracted its statement as it should, since it has not offered proper apologies to the bloggers involved, just like its partner or accomplice in this case, the "Aos Fatos" agency. Due to the haste in publicizing the fake news accusation—an accusation that, in fact, was fake news itself—it seems that both agencies have taken on the highly suspicious role of censors of alternative media! If working against fake news is what we've seen since yesterday, not yet corrected as it should be, I emphasize, Facebook is being deceived, and Brazilians are screwed!
Renato Faria You were WRONG!! How can an agency that claims to fight FAKE NEWS create FAKE NEWS??? You're adding fuel to the fire. You didn't check the facts correctly, you only relied on one source. Lamentable!!! You should retract your statement more transparently, saying something like "WE WERE WRONG..."
Liege Simões And aren't you going to apologize to the websites you said published fake news? You've lost credibility. Shameful!
Cristina Biazus Now all that remains is to retract the serious fake news that you published. Your lack of ethics, Agência Lupa, is proportional to this coup we are experiencing. And you, by spreading all these lies, contribute greatly to the poverty of spirit that our current society is going through.
Flavia Melo No retraction?? This fact-checking agency is garbage, posting fake news and not having the decency to retract it. We know very well who they serve! #FakeMagnifyingGlass
Flavio Arthur Queiroz You have an obligation to check your "fact-checking" before spreading a lie. You only considered one website and didn't even consult the original blogs that published the news about Lula's gift.
Mauro Baracho Only in Brazil do fact-checking agencies spread fake news. Apologize to the media outlets you disrespected. That's the least you can do.
Luciano De Marchi Mello And they still maintain the previous post, labeled as false, even after attaching the correction to "keeping an eye on it" - even after the Vatican page changed and Juan Grabois' letter confirmed it. They were quick to deny the news and now they are cautious about admitting their own mistake. We will be "keeping an eye" on you... But it's over. They've lost credibility.
Ana Silva The positive side of this is that it's become blatantly obvious that you have a political bias. That stain will never be erased. It's a good thing there are alternative sources of information, because if it depended on your retraction, nobody would know the ugly thing you did. If you're honest, your retraction will generate the same level of attention as your lies did. But I think your bosses won't let that happen, will they?
Pallas Athena This isn't about clarification, but about apologizing for not checking anything. You even accused alternative media of spreading a crime (fake news). What credibility do you have? Who checks your fact-checks? It would be more honest to issue an apology with the same fanfare you used to announce that the arrival of the Vatican consultant with the Pope's blessing for Lula was a lie.