WA fake post with a video circulated on X (formerly Twitter) showing several industrialized food products with a seal on the packaging whose logo has a frog. The recording is accompanied by the following caption, in capital letters: “Urgent! Do not consume products with the frog brand. These are foods from the industry of (criminal) Mr. Bill Gates. Remembering that these are contaminated foods, whose objective is to reduce population and destroy agriculture in the world, these frogs are synthetic. Boycott!” It is false that foods whose packaging bears the Rainforest Alliance seal, represented by a frog inside a circle, are contaminated in order to reduce the world’s population or destroy agribusiness. It is also a lie that the food manufacturing industries that have the seal or the organization itself belong to Bill Gates.
The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization present in more than 70 countries, including Brazil, whose objective, according to the entity, is “to protect forests and biodiversity, combat climate change and promote rights and improved conditions life of rural communities”. To achieve this objective, the institution develops a certification program for companies that promote forest preservation, human rights and subsistence.
The presence of the seal on packaging guarantees that its production complied with the required social, economic and environmental criteria. This means that the products have little environmental impact (as little as possible) and were not made based on the exploitation of labor similar to slavery or children, among other aspects. To achieve certification and stamp the seal on its products, each company must undergo evaluation by independent auditors, a way of guaranteeing the integrity of the program.
Although it is responsible for evaluating compliance with the criteria, the organization does not participate in or have any relationship with food production. It is up to the company itself to seek certification for a specific product, which may be valid in all participating countries or in specific states.
The Rainforest Alliance’s mascot was chosen because the red-eyed frog is a bioindicator — if there is a healthy population of this animal, it means that the place is also sustainable.
O Check He tried to contact the person responsible for the false publication, but the profile does not allow sending direct messages. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) was also contacted and responded that “there are no tax actions published for these products with these names in the last 4 years”.
False, for Checkis all content that has been invented or has been edited to change its original meaning and disseminated deliberately to spread a falsehood.
A Rainforest Alliance has different sources of revenue, with the main participation royalties coming from certification, grants from governments and foundations, and individual donations. The organization provides an annual report where it is possible to consult the amounts received, expenses and projects financed.
Bill Gates, named as the owner of the Rainforest Alliance, is in reality just a collaborator, and has no direct connection with the organization. The businessman, through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, made a donation to the alliance in the amount of US$5.3 million (R$27.1 million, at current exchange rates) in November 2007 to support agricultural development in Africa. The billionaire’s foundation does not appear among the donors in the organization’s latest reports.
O Check investigates suspicious content with the greatest reach on social media. As of April 26, the publication on X had 218.8 thousand views, 5 thousand likes and 321 comments.
First, we searched on Google for the keywords “brand frog foods” and found checks on the subject. Next, we also consulted the Rainforest Alliance website, which appears easily in searches and explains the “frog certificate”.
O Check monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging applications about public policies, health, climate change and elections at the federal level and opens investigations into those publications that have greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984.
