Jéssica Vitória Dias Canedo and Whindersson Nunes Reproduction/Instagram Montage/R7
After the death of Minas Gerais student Jéssica Vitoria Dias Canedo, who fell victim to a rumor, comedian Whindersson Nunes criticized the exposure of fake news through profiles, but also called for the creation of a law called “Jéssica Vitoria”. The 22yearold girl, who suffered from depression, died last Friday (22).
“Start a movement to see if it helps us to create a law called Jéssica Vitoria to improve Brazilian legislation in this business that is happening now, namely this unofficial journalism. That this is very dangerous. There are people who have a lot of followers and say what is not an official thing, but something that has a real impact,” he said in a video.
“It must be a criminal offense to publish a conversation that two people did not authorize. Unless it involves the detection of a crime in order to report something, I don't think there's any point in a private conversation between two people. That's why it is like this.” “It's dangerous not to look for the truth before revealing it because that could be harmful,” he added.
Jéssica Vitoria Dias Canedo, mistakenly believed to have had an affair with Whindersson Nunes, died at the age of 22 in Araguari, in the Triângulo Mineiro, 567 km from Belo Horizonte (MG). She had published alleged conversations with the comedian on the Internet including from Choquei, which has more than 20 million followers on Instagram alone.
The site issued a statement on social media but denied responsibility for the young woman's death.
“With regard to the events circulating on social media related to a tragic incident involving the young Jéssica Vitoria Canedo, we would like to emphasize that all publications were made on the basis of the data available at the time and in strict compliance with the usual activities that resulting from this exercise of the right to information,” says an excerpt from the statement.
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The mother's appeal
Three days before her death, Inês Oliveira Jessica's mother recorded a video in which she cried and said her daughter was suffering from depression and had been the victim of a lie.
“I am here first and foremost as a mother who is going through a difficult situation with her daughter. You published a lie. My daughter suffers from very severe, very deep, very severe depression. As a mother, I'm asking for this.” “For the love of God, stop posting this,” she said through tears.