JUE 28 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 06:46hs.
Report

Fake News CPMI identifies government ads on 12 gambling sites

More than two million paid advertisements were identified with funds from the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom) on websites, mobile applications and YouTube channels that broadcast content considered inappropriate. The report, which was produced at the request of the Fake News Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) and reported by the newspaper O Globo, includes advertisements on 12 sites with news about gambling.

According to O Globo, the data included in the report were obtained by the Access to Information Law (LAI). Although information was requested between January and November 2019, Secom only delivered data for a period of 38 days: June 6 and July 13 last year. Even with the narrower cut, it was still possible to find 2,065,479 ads on 843 channels considered inappropriate.

At the time, the money used was destined for a campaign in favor of the Pension Reform. Advertising was automatically directed to the sites by Google's Adwords and Adsense platforms. Still, it is possible for the advertiser to block specific sites if they wish.

Among the 843 inappropriate channels are: 741 on YouTube that were removed by the platform for breaches of rules, 47 sites that spread fake news, 12 sites with news about gambling, seven that make offers of illegal investments and four with pornographic content.

Among the sites placed in the category of fake news broadcasters are: "Jornal da Cidade Online", "Terça Live", "Folha do Brasil" and "Diário do Centro do Mundo". The classification in this category was carried out by members of the Fake News CPMI.

The blogger Allan dos Santos, from the website “Terça Livre", is one of those investigated in the report that is being processed by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and that investigates an alleged machine for false news and attacks on court ministers.

During a hearing at CPMI, the blogger, supporter of President Jair Bolsonaro, stated that he did not receive public money. However, Secom data shows that its YouTube channel received 1,447 ads.

"The broadcasting of advertisements by Secom on channels of this type may generate questioning based on paragraph 1 of article 37 of the Constitution, as it opens the possibility of interpreting this as the use of official advertising for personal promotion, a conduct prohibited by the Magna Carta", says an excerpt from the document.

Source: GMB