Groundtruth

Since taking office in January, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has weaponized the fear of widespread crime, and tapped into the country’s anger with the rampant corruption. The former army captain has given the police carte blanche to fight violence with violence. But his policy of “the only good criminal is a dead criminal” has also taken the lives of innocents in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. GroundTruth Fellow Leticia Duarte walked with the victims of police violence through the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the places where their loved ones were gunned down. She also traveled to Virginia, to the home of Olavo de Carvalho, the “Steve Bannon” of Brazil, whose ideas helped Bolsonaro become president. Streaming from his home office, he commands an online army of trolls who intimidate anyone who raises their voice against the government policies. ABOUT THE SERIES In a six-month reporting project titled Democracy Undone: The Authoritarian’s Playbook, GroundTruth reporting fellows in Indi