President says lying is still a threat to democracy and that people are “destroying the strength of argument”
The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Wednesday (Aug 28, 2024) that he is concerned about the effects of the language used on cell phones and digital media on the quality of knowledge and the population’s ability to read and write. The governor stated that, currently, people are “destroying the strength of the argument, which is no longer worth anything.”
“I am concerned that this cell phone language is diminishing the quality of our knowledge, our difficulty in reading and writing. A Tiktok is worth more than a speech, fake news is worth more than the Pope’s liturgy,” said Lula in a speech during the launch of the book “Brazil of Hope: Marketing in the Most Important Elections in the Country’s History,” by the marketing expert for his 2022 presidential campaign, Sidônio Palmeira. The event was held at the Museum of the Republic in Brasília.
Without mentioning former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), his main adversary, or other opponents, Lula said that there is a civilizational delay in the country due to the advance of lies and the lack of debate in current politics.
Watch (16min14s):
“These people today are a backward point in the country’s civilization. They are the ones who are destroying the power of argument, which is no longer worth anything. People are being educated to no longer tolerate arguments; people want things that are coded, quick, and preferably, lies. Because when you tell a lie, you don’t have to explain it. But when you tell the truth, you have to have an argument, and it takes a long time; no one has the patience to listen.” he said.
The president stated that one of his missions “more serious” is to take care “to bring to the minds of millions of people the importance of the survival of democracy”. He mentioned the meeting he intends to hold on September 24, in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (United Nations), with democratic countries to, according to the PT member, discuss how to make democracy “survive on planet Earth”.
In his speech, Lula stated that the last election “It was the most important and most complicated political campaign he participated in” because there was a component of lies in the opponents’ strategy, which according to him, is very difficult to combat because “There is no way to explain a lie.”
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