The mayor of Rio de Janeiro endangers journalist Giovani Grizotti

According to the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji), the Rio Grande do Sul state Journalists' Union and Revista Forum, Bagé mayor Divaldo Lara and communications officer Roberta Mércio posted a photo they claimed was of investigative reporter Giovani Grizotti on YouTube on January 13.

According to court documents reviewed by CPJ, the video was in retaliation for Grizotti's report on corruption allegations involving the mayor earlier this month, who tried to block publication for several months.

Grizotti, a reporter at the privately-owned RBS TV, an affiliate of the national Globo media group, investigates allegations of corruption involving regional officials and refuses to allow himself to be photographed for his own safety. According to his Twitter bio, Grizotti is a "faceless reporter."

The Griziotti report, which had been blocked from publication by Lara in August 2021, was published on January 11, 2022, following a successful appeal by RBS to the Brazilian Supreme Court.

In a video titled "Mayor Divaldo Lara reveals who Globo journalist Giovani Grizotti is," a YouTube account named Gabriel Lm posted the video on January 13, 2022. In a five-minute video, Lara accuses Grizotti, calling him a “leftist journalist,” of “setting up a story" and directs him to "show your face, be a man." Lara also declares he will "fight biased journalism, like yours, which attacks the President and attacks his allies."

A short statement Grizotti posted on his Twitter account on January 13 said he was being attacked by Bagé's mayor and press officer and that the information in his reporting contradicted the "poorly edited video made to attack me." He said he would continue to investigate the matter.

* This article contains information sourced from CPJ.