Last week, social networks were dominated by. More serious than that, there was also a peak of misinformation, causing damage to reputation and.
One of the first cases to gain repercussions was one in a São Paulo diner. Since then, fear has made the theme viral, transforming distrust into collective hysteria.
The consumption of spirits fell, bars and restaurants had to publicly defend themselves from misinformation, and left even for beer, when some reports pointed to it as a source of alcohol intoxication.
In the messenger groups, lists of “banned places”, “dangerous marks” and “methanol routes imported from Paraguay” were multiplied. Most messages had no source, date or any bond with reality.
Data from, which monitors more than 100,000 public groups in real time, show that from September 30 to October 4, thousands of messages with mentions and methanol and “fake” were circulated.
The peak occurred on the night of October 3, when several lists of banned bars rolled the groups. Just over 25% of messages on the subject were related to the lists.
They also gained strength posts that associated the case with, suggesting a national criminal plot.
Messages with mentions to the “CCP” were often combined with conspiracy theories about deliberate adulteration, as if methanol in the drinks were a kind of retaliation as a result of the aiming to dismantle organized crime.
The misinformation, which strongly affected some establishments, especially in São Paulo, gained strength due to elements that aim to increase the credibility of the spokesman. At first, a supposed leakage of a list of bars that would be irregular, and that are well known, increasing the appeal for people to share, as it crosses the feeling of “could be with me.”
When the message is received by someone of trust, there is a predisposition to believe in the content. There is, in some cases, an even larger appeal, which are messages accompanied by phrases such as: “Confirmed, my cousin is a police officer.”
In such cases, information is already, for many, undisputed. And the more the news is alarming and related to the routine of those people, the more it is referred.
The practical result is a collapse of trust. Consumers certain establishments. Also, amid the euphoria of networks, the ability of the public power to communicate what is true is diminished.
With each new list, a monitoring, supervision and communication work is required, but when this process is completed, a new list already brings new establishments.
The ministry, through the minister, is doing an important communication work, seeking to inform about the current situation and which actions should be taken.
However, panic follows its own cycle, indifferent to official notes. With each new case or line of investigation, when official information takes time to fill the vacuum, misinformation occupies the space with speed, emotion and sense of urgency.
In cases like this of methanol in drinks, it is important that there is agreement between the messages transmitted by the municipal, state and federal government. Trust is one of the central elements of communication and its absence is the raw material of misinformation.
Gift Link: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release seven free hits from any link per day. Just click on F Blue below.
