Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s press team manipulated a video of his speech to the United Nations to boost the volume of applause he got, according to an investigation by local media outlet La Silla Vacia.
(Bloomberg) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s press team manipulated a video of his speech to the United Nations to boost the volume of applause he got, according to an investigation by local media outlet La Silla Vacia.
The more enthusiastic response to US President Joe Biden’s speech was edited on to the end of Petro’s speech in a clip circulated by the Colombian presidency, La Silla Vacia found.
Petro’s press chief Maria Paula Fonseca didn’t reply to a written request for comment.
In his speech, Petro called for more urgent measures to tackle climate change, reiterated his view that the war on drugs has been a failure, and urged a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. He did receive some applause, but less than Biden, La Silla Vacia found.
Since his first speech to the UN a year ago, Petro has seen his poll ratings decline steeply at home as he struggled to fulfill his pledge to overhaul the nation’s conservative economic model amid stiff opposition in congress.
–With assistance from Oscar Medina and Philip Sanders.
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