In 2018, publications began to circulate on social networks that attributed the following phrase to the then candidate for the Colombian presidential elections, Gustavo Petro: “Houses with more than 65 square meters will be shared with other families.” Four years later, at a time when Petro was elected president of the country, the publications reappeared. But not only there is no evidence that Gustavo Petro has made these statements What, Already in 2018, as he himself came to deny.

The publications in question are a reproduction of an alleged news item dated 2018. As can be seen, the alleged publication date is April 26, 2018, during Gustavo Petro’s campaign for the presidential elections of that year, which he lost in the second round. But there are no elements to identify the means of communication in which this alleged news was published or who is the author.

Still, there is no record — neither in the Colombian press nor in our international communications media or in the social networks of Gustavo Petro — that the elected president of Colombia had said that families with houses with more than 62 square meters should partilhar to dwell with others. On the contrary, a Google search of the title with the phrase attributed to the politician only reveals that already in 2018 these statements had been denied in various media. For example, the Colombian magazine “Semana” made a selection of fake news from the campaign for this year’s presidential elections. This was on the list. “Although it is something totally false, it managed to penetrate public opinion”, it reads.

also his own Gustavo Petro denied the statements. In a post made on Twitter, the now president-elect shared a fake news montage involving him and said it was a “unleashed and well-financed smear campaign by corruption and the privileged in power”.

This is the slanderous campaign unleashed and well financed by corruption and the privileged of Power. In this way, they will try to stop the victorious advance of Colombia Humana. pic.twitter.com/1Z9TJA46Jw

– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 30, 2018

On the other hand, in the government program presented by Gustavo Petro for the presidential elections there is no type of initiative that proposes to share houses with more than 65 square meters with other people.

Gustavo Petro, who will take office as president of Colombia on August 7, after being elected on June 19, was target of fake news throughout the campaign and remains. One of them, which was verified by the Observer, was a black and white photograph, where Gustavo Petro is seen together with the famous drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, both shirtless and accompanied by other men, all in front of a table where they are served some drinks. However, the photograph was a montage: his face was glued to another man’s body in a photograph of him with former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 1994, seven months after Escobar’s death.

Fact check. Does the photo show the Colombian presidential candidate with Pablo Escobar?

conclusion

Publications circulate on social networks that attribute to the elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, a statement in which he announced that families with homes larger than 65 square meters must share the home with other people.

There is no evidence – neither in the Colombian press nor in the international media, not even in Gustavo Petro’s social networks – that the politician has made these statements. In 2018, when these complaints first surfaced, the alleged announcement had been denied in various media. Gustavo Petro himself also denied the statements.

Thus, according to the Observer classification, this content is: