A claim circulating on social media that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva threw the country’s flag on the ground after voting in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, is false.
Footage from another angle shows what happened after Lula voted. The Brazilian flag was handed to him by photographer Ricardo Stuckert before Lula posed for photos with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
After the photos, Lula handed the flag back to Stuckert. The footage does not show Lula throwing the Brazilian flag on the ground or treating it disrespectfully.
The claim spread on social media alongside a video suggesting that the president had disrespected the national symbol. However, the additional footage shows that the flag remained in the hands of Lula and his photographer throughout the interaction.
