Several foreign and religious profiles have been spreading a conspiracy theory on social networks that links the "divine wrath" supposedly provoked by Carnaval to the floods, destruction, and tragedies caused by the rains in Brazil. This Monday (13), "Brazil" was among the most commented subjects on Twitter, with more than 34,000 tweets.
In English, the publications bring videos and photos that criticize Christian religious representations in samba school parades, such as the staging between Jesus and the devil in the Gaviões da Fiel parade in 2019 and the Salgueiro float, this year, which featured a gigantic doll representing the devil. The images of Brazilian carnivals are alternated with videos of rains and floods that wash away vehicles and destroy houses, but which do not specify where or when these episodes took place. Users who share the videos evoke a supposed "heavenly justice" against what they call a "satanic feast".
"Brazilians mocked God during Carnaval held on February 18, 2023, which provoked God and also Christians in Brazil to demand justice. Therefore, God hit Brazil with great storms and a flood", says one of the publications.
Some videos also bring images of Brazilian tragedies that did not happen after this year's Carnaval. A video released by the profile of a gospel singer on YouTube, for example, brings images of parades but then shows images of the rain that killed 104 people in Petrópolis (RJ) in February 2022. The narrator of the video says that the disaster happened because "they mocked God". The publication, made about two weeks ago, has more than 760,000 views.
The #Hashtag blog tried to contact the owner of the profile but did not receive a response until the publication of this article. Other tweets even published photos and videos of some floats from a Carnaval that take place in the German cities of Düsseldorf and Cologne, in Germany, stating that the images refer to the Brazilian party. Carnaval, as well as other cultural traditions in the country, has been the target of criticism from evangelicals in recent years.
Translated by Cassy Dias