Among fake postings that have stirred outrage: That official agencies aren't conducting rescues in Brazil's southernmost state. Brazil became a hotbed for disinformation ahead of the 2018 election won by Jair Bolsonaro. He has ordered social media platforms to remove dozens of accounts. But it has become a target for far-right hostility under Lula, with social media users attacking military leaders for taking orders from the leftist president, said Alexandre Aragão, executive editor of fact-checking agency Aos Fatos. Social media posts distorted that report and claimed aid stoppages are a widespread phenomenon.

Source: ABC News May 15, 2024 18:21 UTC