Federal police said that supporters of Jair Bolsonaro are spreading misinformation about electronic ballots in a document sent to the Superior Electoral Court. The tactic was used during the 2016 elections in the United States and was devised by Donald Trump's campaign strategist, Steve Bannon.
As the architect of the ex-president's campaign, Bannon advised the Cambridge Analytica firm, which was involved in a Facebook data scam in the campaign. He also led the site Breitbart News, known for disseminating misinformation.
The federal police said the same model was used in the 2018 elections, when Bolsonaro was elected.
The report explained that multiple internet sites sought to eliminate the figure of opinion-forming intermediaries, disqualify opposing positions and promote “attacks on traditional outlets for the dissemination of information (newspapers, radio, TV, etc.).”
The objective would be to reach the public in a “direct, horizontal way, by dispelling the distinction between what is information and what is opinion.”
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon