UOL - O melhor conteúdo
Lupa
‘Ramiro Caminhoneiro’ was essential to make the travel of hundreds to Brasília possible
12.01.2023 - 09h16
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
“Ramiro Caminhoneiro” (Truck Driver Ramiro). This is one of the names that appear the most on WhatsApp and Telegram groups used to call people to go to Brasília last Sunday (8).
At the request of Lupa an examination carried out by Palver, a company that monitors anonymously 17,000 public groups of political conversations in the most widely used messaging app in the country, shows that “Ramiro Caminhoneiro” is mentioned at least 82 times ― and in all instances, he appears as a caravan organizer. In this survey there are also 88 mentions of “Caminhoneiro Ramiro”. 
The examination of these WhatsApp groups was carried out based on reports directed via form to Lupa of the collaborative database of anti-democratic posts.
  • This content was produced by Lupa from the collaborative database of anti-democratic posts. Have you seen or received posts encouraging the coup-mongering acts? Click here and send it to Lupa.
  • We are thankful for your collaboration and help. With support from everyone, we continue this collaborative project that seeks to understand how the vandalism acts in the Federal District were organized.
In all of the scrutinized messages, the same telephone number appears attached to a subject that would be organizing protest caravans. It’s a phone line with area code 11 (from São Paulo), which Lupa will not divulge due to security issues.
“Whoever needs a bus to Brasília, call WhatsApp 11 (hidden number). Ramiro Caminhoneiro is making 3,000 buses available”, says one of the most shared WhatsApp messages.
“Whoever needs a bus to Brasília, call WhatsApp 11 (hidden). Ramiro Caminhoneiro is making 33 thousand buses available. *Freedom caravans to Brasília HQ”, tells another message detected on the app.
In Palver’s monitoring, it’s also possible to see people asking for the contact information of “Ramiro Caminhoneiro” to try to join the groups he intended to take to the demonstrations in Brasília.
“Patriots, Caminhoneiro Ramiro divulged that the agricultural sector was sending thousands of buses to whoever wanted to go to Brasília. I’m from Salvador and I want to go. Do you know if I’ll be able to?”, wrote a citizen from Bahia, in one of the monitored groups.
The predominance of “Ramiro Caminhoneiro” also appeared in an examination carried out by the Research Laboratory on Communication, Political Cultures and Collaborative Economy of Fluminense Federal University (coLAB/UFF).
In this second set of messages about who seems to be one of the main articulators of the terrorist acts in Brasília, there are requests for Pix donations ― all of those for the same phone number hidden by Lupa. 
“Now it’s official! Share to the max. All to Brasília. Be there until January 09 2023. Otherwise afterwards you will be left behind! Help us: pix (celular/ Zap): 11 (hidden).”
On Telegram, it wasn’t different. In 122 groups monitored 1,148 messages mentioning “Ramiro Caminhoneiro” were detected. There have been mentions of him since 2018, in an attempt to mobilize truck drivers to go on strike.
“He asks for money. Tells people to deposit into his Banco do Brasil bank account. The Pix number we have just seen just modernized the process”, said Virginia University Professor of Media Studies David Nemer, leaning over the set of messages he collected. ”This material makes it clear that these groups are based on and highly dependent on mutual trust. Ramiro sells himself as a patriot, as a Bolsonaro supporter, and people see in him an equal, an opportunity to make their political desires come true.”
In the three sets of messages analyzed, Palver’s, UFF’s and Nemer’s, there are links that refer to a specific Instagram profile: “Ramiro dos Caminhoneiros” (Ramiro of the truck drivers).
Those who visited the page on Monday in the late afternoon (9) found there a series of posts made by a man that calls himself “a patriot at the service of transportation, a transporter at the service of fatherland”. A man who believes that “the strength of the truck drivers frees Brazil from communism”.
The page also features videos made during the attacks on the public service buildings in Brasília and several mentions of a supposed necessity to “free Brazil”.
There is also a statement signed by OAB/SP lawyer Ana Luiza Correa de Castro, dated January 6th. In the text, the information linked to the owner of the profile is rejected, but it’s highlighted that the phone number with area code 11 (hidden by Lupa) is property of Ramiro Cruz Júnior, aka Ramiro dos Caminhoneiros.
The statement also points out that Ramiro “is accountable for all Pix operations, also for tax purposes”.
Lupa has tried to reach Ramiro on the telephone number he admits is his own throughout the afternoon on Monday (9) to no avail. The telephone number registered by his lawyer in her OAB/SP registry does not connect.
On the other hand Meta, controller of Instagram, did not answer if they monitor anti-democratic profiles or if they intend to suspend Ramiro’s account. They just said that even before the elections in October, they took to removing content that “encouraged people to take on arms and invade the Congress, the Planalto Palace and other public service buildings”, and that they collaborated with the Brazilian authorities.
As a result of the attacks in Brasília, Lupa requests the collaboration of its followers to build a database that gathers anti-democratic posts published on social networks and messaging apps. This is a collaborative project that seeks to understand how these acts of vandalism were organized. If you have seen or heard some publication encouraging the attacks, collaborate by filling this form. This content will be used for journalistic or research purposes, and may help in future investigations about the invasions on January 8, 2023.
* Translation by Roger da Silva João
Original version in Portuguese here
Nota: esta reportagem faz parte do projeto Lupa nos Golpistas, produzido pela Lupa com apoio da Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil.
Clique aqui para ver como a Lupa faz suas checagens e acessar a política de transparência
A Lupa faz parte do
The trust project
International Fact-Checking Network
A Agência Lupa é membro verificado da International Fact-checking Network (IFCN). Cumpre os cinco princípios éticos estabelecidos pela rede de checadores e passa por auditorias independentes todos os anos.
A Lupa está infringindo esse código? FALE COM A IFCN
Tipo de Conteúdo: Reportagem
Conteúdo investigativo que aborda temas diversos relacionados a desinformação com o objetivo de manter os leitores informados.
Copyright Lupa. Todos os direitos reservados. É proibida a reprodução do conteúdo desta página em qualquer meio de comunicação, eletrônico ou impresso, sem autorização.

Leia também


09.01.2025 - 17h21
reportagem
Only 8% of ‘Community Notes’ in Portuguese on X Reach Users

Data extracted from the program that Elon Musk advocates as the best solution against disinformation shows that, despite its growing popularity, the Portuguese version suffers from a series of flaws that undermine the initiative.

Cristina Tardáguila
09.01.2025 - 14h00
Saúde
O que se sabe sobre o surto do vírus hMPV na China

Um surto na China de casos de metapneumovírus humano (hMPV) tem gerado mensagens alarmistas nas redes — lembrando o período de pandemia da Covid-19, como a de imagens de supostos hospitais sobrecarregados. Apesar de algumas semelhanças nos sintomas, o hMPV é um vírus muito mais antigo, identificado em 2001 e é recorrente em períodos de inverno.

Ítalo Rômany
08.01.2025 - 18h35
Redes Sociais
Diretrizes da Meta que permitem discursos discriminatórios esbarram em leis no Brasil

As mudanças nas diretrizes de comunidade da Meta — que enfraquecem as proteções contra discriminação de gênero e raça — são vistas como uma afronta às políticas de igualdade e inclusão. Especialistas ouvidos pela Lupa avaliam que as políticas da big tech no Brasil devem obedecer a legislação local, e por isso, podem ser judicializadas.

Ítalo Rômany
07.01.2025 - 17h53
Redes Sociais
Meta encerra programa de checagem de fatos nos EUA e silencia sobre Brasil

Após o anúncio da Meta sobre o fim do Programa de Verificação de Fatos (3PFC) nos Estados Unidos e a adoção do modelo colaborativo "Notas da Comunidade", cresce a preocupação com a sobrevivência das agências de checagem e o aumento da desinformação nas redes. Criado em 2016, o programa é a principal fonte de recursos de agências independentes.

Evelin Mendes
03.01.2025 - 08h00
Internacional
Teorias conspiratórias sobre interferência política de Trump no Brasil ganham força nas redes

Mesmo antes da posse de Donald Trump, marcada para 20 de janeiro, publicações nas redes sociais disseminam informações enganosas sobre o poder do presidente dos Estados Unidos sobre o Brasil. Postagens nas redes já alegaram, por exemplo, que Trump concedeu passaporte diplomático a Jair Bolsonaro e que iria prender o ministro Alexandre de Moraes.

João Pedro Capobianco
Women Owned
Assine nossa newsletter
sobre desinformação
Acompanhe nossas redes
Lupa © 2025 Todos os direitos reservados
Feito por
Dex01
Meza Digital