Brazil’s presidential race took a bizarre turn this week as leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro were targeted on social media by false claims of Satanism, Freemasonry — and even cannibalism.
So great was the flood of disinformation, that Lula, 76, posted a five-point statement on Facebook saying that he had not, in fact, cut a deal with the devil nor had he spoken with Satan. He later participated in an event with Franciscan friars. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, attended on Saturday the country’s largest religious festival, a Catholic celebration known as “Cirio de Nazare” in Belem, capital of the northern state of Para.
Earlier in the week, a series of viral videos and untrue political propaganda sought to cast doubt on each candidates’ faith after the first round of elections on Oct. 2. Both men tout their Christian beliefs, but Bolsonaro, 67, has staked much of his reelection bid on securing the backing of evangelical voters.
