Fake news circulating about the July 28 elections

• The team of The newspaper He compiled a compilation of the misinformation that has been spread about the presidential elections

In recent months, several fake news stories have been circulating on social media and messaging platforms related to the presidential elections scheduled for Sunday, July 28. The content disseminated has addressed falsehoods about several of the candidates, as well as the voting system.

One of the topics that has been most used to spread misinformation is the voting process, with fake news such as the alleged use of pens with erasable ink to sign the electoral notebooks or the obligation to wear face masks to vote.

The team of The newspaper detected several of the fake news which were mainly spread on X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and WhatsApp, and debunked them. Below is a compilation of the fake news:

It’s false. An audio message circulated on WhatsApp in which a female voice warned that the red number on the back of the ID card supposedly corresponds to a voter and can be used as a digital vote. In addition, she urged people to look up the number on the National Electoral Council (CNE) website to verify that it supposedly does correspond to a person.

However, even though the code may match a person’s ID number registered in the electoral system, this does not mean that it can be used to vote in absentia for that person.

Article 125 of the Electoral Process Law states that in order to exercise the right to vote, people must present their original laminated ID card, whether expired or current. In addition, the serial number that is taken into account when voting is the identification number that appears under the tricolor of the document.

It’s false. Images recently circulated on social media urging citizens to wear face masks when attending polling stations, as ordered by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The publication claims that if the voter does not wear a mask to vote, he or she will be restricted from accessing the polling place and will not be able to exercise his or her right to vote.

Although wearing a face mask was mandatory during the Covid-19 alert, the CNE does not currently require its use to attend voting and has not made an official statement on the matter.

It’s falseIn mid-May, a video circulated on social media and WhatsApp showing an alleged broadcast of the Venevisión news program, in which it was reported that the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) allegedly raided a warehouse where a laboratory was operating to manipulate social media in favor of María Corina Machado.

However, the video was not published on Venevisión and there is no evidence of the alleged raid. The video, which has been circulating since at least 2023, is not related to a farm to manipulate social media.

This is an exhibition by Chinese artist Zhang Mingxin, held at the Nanyang Art Museum in China in September 2023.

It’s falseIn May, a message attributed to Catholic Bishop Mario Moronta was also circulated on WhatsApp, stating that a large group of officers from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) would not allow the results of the presidential elections to be held on July 28 to be ignored.

The text, which includes the image of the monsignor, was not said by Moronta. The Diocese of San Cristóbal issued a statement denying “the false statements attributed to Monsignor Mario Moronta.”

“We want to let the public know that the Bishop of San Cristóbal has not issued any statement on the elections in Venezuela and, therefore, any information circulating in this regard is false and does not reflect the official position,” Moronta said on his Instagram account.

It’s falseAn image circulated on social media showing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado supposedly waving a US flag during a rally.

However, it was discovered that the photo had been edited. The original image shows the leader with a Venezuelan flag. In addition, it was found that the original photo was posted on April 11, 2014 on Machado’s Facebook profile.

Disinformation in electoral processes

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highlights that disinformation has become common in electoral processes. This calls into question their transparency and functioning, threatens the right to a free and informed vote and raises doubts about their legitimacy.

“Given that disinformation will be present wherever there is a lack of information on electoral integrity, it will then be necessary to anticipate the three main moments of the voting cycle. To do so, it is essential to be alert to any changes in regulations that can be used to misinform, as well as to fears or doubts that some candidate or social leader may have publicly expressed,” the organization notes.

It’s false. An image circulated on WhatsApp and social media showing a photograph of the head of the United States Southern Command, Laura Richardson, along with a message in which she supposedly threatens to intervene in Venezuela “if they touch” opposition leader María Corina Machado.

However, after checking the general’s official websites and social media, no evidence was found that Richardson had made any statements about María Corina Machado or an alleged intervention.

The Univisión news portal, as well as the pages of fact check Espaja y Firefly Effectalso denied the information.

It’s falseIn mid-June, a video of Puerto Rican singer Chayanne went viral on Instagram and TikTok with an alleged gesture of approval towards Edmundo González Urrutia, candidate for the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) for the presidential elections on July 28.

However, the post is false and the artist has not invited Venezuelans to vote for the opposition candidate. The video is a meme made with a previously recorded template with the singer, in which he says the phrase: “Approved by Chayanne.”

The Chayanne meme has been used in recent years in multiple contexts for the purpose of comedy. For example: a travel budget, a photo of a famous actor, a gift or surprise, among others.

Photo: composition of El Diario

It’s falseSeveral posts have been circulating on social media claiming that the World Health Organization (WHO) has supposedly warned that governments around the world must cancel their upcoming elections due to the outbreak of bird flu.

However, the WHO is not competent to give such instructions to states. The fake news, which emerged amid reports of the death of a person infected with the H5N2 strain of bird flu in Mexico, was denied by a WHO spokesperson.

The representative told EFE Verifica that the risk of this disease is still considered low and that the publications circulating on social networks are based on a website that has spread misinformation.

It’s falseA video of opposition leader María Corina Machado circulated on social media in which she addresses Bolivian youth to stay in the streets and not retreat over the fate of Bolivia. Some users indicated that the video supposedly shows Machado’s support for the attempted coup d’état in that country on June 26.

However, the video is not current. It was published on October 23, 2019 by the Vente Venezuela party, when protests broke out in Bolivia following the general elections held that year.

It’s false. A video attributed to the international news outlet circulated on the WhatsApp messaging platform BBC Newswhich shows an alleged biographical summary of presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and reports that he supposedly has terminal stomach cancer.

However, the BBC News clarified for The newspaper that the video is fake. Furthermore, the video was never posted on their website or social media, the first indication that it was disinformation.

It’s false. In early July, a message circulated on WhatsApp and social media warning people to bring their own pens to the polling stations in the presidential elections on July 28 because supposedly the ones offered to sign the minutes are made of erasable ink.

However, the message is false. It is disinformation that emerged in Mexico in 2021 and has been circulating in Venezuela since at least 2023.

It’s falseAn account on the social network X (formerly Twitter) published an image of the alleged results of a Meganalisis survey indicating that Nicolás Maduro allegedly obtained 71.9% of the vote and the candidate Edmundo González only 12.1%.

However, the image was digitally manipulated to change the results. The real results show Edmundo González at the top of the poll with the highest percentage, and Nicolás Maduro in second place.

It’s falseA video circulated on social media claiming that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro allegedly met with opposition candidate for the July 28 presidential election, Edmundo González Urrutia.

However, the video is not recent and does not speak of Edmundo Gonzalez. It is about statements made by Nicolás Maduro in April 2015 about his meeting with Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas that year.

It’s falseSeveral news portals reported that the representative of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), Biagio Pilieri, had supposedly said that they would “cry fraud” and would not recognize the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the presidential elections, but rather their own minutes.

However, the PUD member’s team commented to The newspaper That was not what Pilieri said and they assure that at no time did he mention the CNE or speak of fraud.

At the press conference, Biagio Pilieri said that the Unit will “respect what the minutes say.” This was in response to a question from a journalist from Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) about the recognition of the results, “whatever they may be.”

Recommendations for detecting fake news

Given the speed with which misleading content spreads, several organizations have warned about the phenomenon of misinformation and are asking users to be careful about the information they share.

Although there is no definitive technique or tool to verify a news story, several strategies can be applied before sharing any text, link, image, video or audio on WhatsApp, Telegram or social networks.

-Identify the source of the news

-Check the date of the information

-Analyze the images or videos

-Identify the writing style

-Detect fake profiles and identity theft

To avoid being a party to misinformation regarding the presidential elections and other issues, The newspaper We recommend that users only share information from verified or trusted sources.

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