Brazilian election: Inside the online groups calling for a military coup
“Military intervention NOW!”
If you’ve been following the Brazilian election, this will now be a familiar phrase.
Lula da Silva’s electoral victory over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in October prompted demonstrations from the former president’s most ardent supporters in over 70 Brazilian cities.
Many claimed that the election was a fraud, that Brazil was “stolen” and called for the military to step in.
Five weeks on, demonstrations continue, but have dwindled. Online, however, these calls are stronger than ever.
Experts have told Sky News that the election result has made calls for a military coup the dominant narrative among Brazil’s online far-right groups which, on Telegram, have seen “increased radicalisation”.
Sky News has analysed over 25 channels and pages across Telegram, TikTok and Instagram associated with Brazil’s far-right.
In them, we found baseless claims that a coup is imminent, or even already under way circulating in forums with a combined following of over 300,000.
And with Lula’s upcoming inauguration on 1 January 2023, experts say we can expect to see this kind of discourse escalate.
Protesters across Brazil have used the black Brazilian flag to symbolise their view and it’s the same online. Here, the image can be seen with the words: ‘Say no to communism, join this fight, military intervention now!’
One of the largest pages we found currently has over 34,000 subscribers on Telegram – an increase of 11,000 compared to the previous week.
The channel’s description reads: “WE ARE THE RESISTANCE! MILITARY INTERVENTION YES!”
But the channel goes beyond calling for a coup. Many of its posts imply that military intervention may be just around the corner.
One message posted by the channel’s owner tells followers to begin stockpiling water, medicine and food. It’s been viewed over 18,000 times.
Another voice message spanning over 51 minutes details Brazil’s allies and enemies in the supposedly imminent “war” and urges followers to “get ready now”. The message containing the lengthy monologue has been reacted to over 1,000 times.
Videos of military equipment being transported around Brazil are frequently shared here and across many of the channels we looked at.
These screengrabs are taken from a TikTok that had been shared around many of the channels we observed. The writing on the side of the lorry indicates that it is part of the Brazilian Army’s transportation unit
One clip was originally posted to TikTok with the caption “Patriots ready for this war #sosarmedforces #brazilianarmy”
It was posted in the channel with the message:
“This is without doubt the best coverage of the movements of the Brazilian Army! Very rich in time and details.”
In it, we see a convoy of military vehicles in transit on a busy road.
The woman filming says: “Attention patriots, today on December 4th, there is movement from the army on the main roads.”
“We are seeing they are getting ready for something. What, we don’t know.”
Sky News has not been able to independently verify the reason the equipment in the video was being transported. But Dr Vinicius de Carvalho, director of the Brazil Institute at Kings College London, says the videos show nothing out of the ordinary.
He says: “This is something that happens quite often in Brazil. This video is a convoy of the ECT – which is Brazil’s Army Transport Unit. Their responsibility is to securely transport military equipment around the country.”
The video has been viewed 30,000 times on TikTok. But in reality, it has been seen far more widely. The version posted to the channel alone had an additional 20,000 views.
“The groups that are promoting misinformation currently in Brazil are taking every single opportunity to reinforce their narrative that an intervention is on its way,” Dr de Carvalho tells Sky News.
“But realistically, there is no movement among the Forces that indicate that this is the case.”
This image is one of many similar ones circling in the groups we monitored. It reads ‘S.O.S Armed Forces, Save Our Country’
Another message we saw across numerous channels points to a 5 December publication by Brazil’s Ministry of Defence.
The guide, which is available on Brazil’s government website, “serves as a doctrinal basis for knowledge, planning, preparation and execution of military mobilisation”.
“Brazil is under military guardianship. It came out in the official journal,” reads one post in a group of 13,600.
Another shared the document with the message: “PREPARE FOR WAR, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, IT’S SERIOUS.” It’s been viewed over 24,000 times.
“Everything is falling into place,” someone else added.
Further searching on Brazil’s government website reveals that the update is the result of a working group set up in April 2022 to build on a version initially published in 2015.
“This sort of manual is constantly being updated and reviewed. It’s the result of months of studies,” says Dr de Carvalho.
Another image that had been shared around many of the groups. It reads: “Brazil needs you!”
These are just some of the narratives being promoted in the groups we observed.
“Even though far-right forums on Telegram and other closed platforms have always been more extreme and conspiratorial than those on the surface internet, there seems to be increased radicalisation in the aftermath of the elections,” says Leticia Cesarino, professor of anthropology at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.
However, Prof Cesarino says claims around electoral fraud have long been peddled on Brazil’s far-right.
“It was kept alive during the Bolsonaro administration in different guises: demand for a print ballot, suspicion about statistics, opinion polls, experts, media pundits and the judiciary system,” she says.
“So the turn to more explicit coup-mongering after the election results was entirely predictable.”
Over five weeks on, these claims can still be heard at protest camps across Brazil.
In Brasilia, demonstrators dressed in the bright colours of Brazil’s flag have been camped outside the military headquarters since the result was announced.
Brazil’s courts have made efforts to quell the spread of misinformation in Brazil in recent years.
Since 2019, the Federal Supreme Court has led an at times controversial inquiry into what they called “digital militias” committing “anti-democratic acts”.
It’s resulted in the court-ordered removal of some of the biggest channels charged with promoting misinformation. Telegram was even briefly banned in Brazil earlier in 2022 for this reason, before being reinstated just two days later.
This has continued in the aftermath of the election. But experts say we can expect to see more, not less, of these narratives as the time for Lula to take office approaches.
“It is likely that anti-fraud discourse will escalate as Lula’s inauguration gets closer. These people are very adamant that Lula must not take office or Brazil will sink into moral and economic chaos” Prof Cesarino tells Sky News.
“These forums are now permanent on the Brazilian internet, and will continue to exist and perhaps even regain growth as a persistent movement for de-stabilising the next government.”
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
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“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
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Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
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During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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