A second scourge is battering Brazil’s flooded south: Disinformation

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — The vast flooding that has devastated Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state has yet to subside. But another scourge has spread across the region: Disinformation on social media that has hampered desperate efforts to get aid to hundreds of thousands in need. Fake postings that have stirred outrage claim the army and government agencies aren’t conducting rescues in Brazil’s southernmost state. Others say bureaucracy is holding up donations of food, water and clothing. Officials say combating the disinformation is hindering their response to the emergency. Brazil became a hotbed for disinformation ahead of the 2018 presidential election won by Jair Balsonaro.