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Ratanabá

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The conspiracy threatens the ruins of Forte Príncipe da Beira and was condemned by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage.[1]

Ratanabá is a conspiracy theory about a lost city in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest allegedly built by extraterrestrial beings.[2][3] The theory originated with Urandir Fernandes de Oliveira, who claims contact with extraterrestrials, and was spread by gossip pages like Choquei and former Culture Secretary Mário Frias.[4]

The story has been debunked as false[5][6] but became a viral meme on Brazilian social media.[7] Archeologists have dismissed the claims, with BBC Brasil reporting the legend "makes no sense" scientifically.[8] The Intercept described it as "pure Bolsonarist lysergia" emerging shortly after the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira.[9]

History

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The conspiracy was initiated by businessman Urandir Fernandes de Oliveira, a self-proclaimed paranormal figure who promotes flat Earth and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories while claiming contact with extraterrestrial beings.[5][10][11] These activities occur in areas under legal dispute.[a] Before Ratanabá, Urandir gained media attention in 2000 after creating the "Projeto Portal" in Corguinho, attracting followers by claiming extraterrestrial contact.[12] He was arrested for fraud and ideological falsehood related to illegal land sales for a proposed alien reception city.[13] In 2010, Urandir appeared on RecordTV's Domingo Espetacular claiming contact with "ET Bilu",[14] which became an Internet meme.[15] The alleged alien was also satirized on Band TV's comedy show Custe o Que Custar.[16]

The Ratanabá city theory was also promoted by writer Isah Pavão, author of a self-published book on the subject and conspiracy videos on YouTube. Oliveira and Pavão claim the city dates back to the Ordovician period, among other pseudoscientific and implausible assertions.[9][17][8][18]

On 10 June 2022, the Choquei account — a popular Twitter and Instagram page known for publishing unverified, distorted or false information[19] — shared the Ratanabá theory with its followers.[20] The topic quickly became a top Twitter trend and saw a spike in Google searches.[21] Influencer Dani Russo also helped spread the rumor.[22] Due to Choquei's millions of followers, many believed the unfounded Ratanabá theory. Geography professor Emanuel Daflon criticized the page for spreading misinformation:[20]

The Ratanabá conspiracy theory is everywhere. A student just asked me if it was true. And the main spreader of this lie is CHOQUEI.

— Emanuel Daflon[20]

That same day, Choquei issued a public retraction and deleted all posts about Ratanabá.[20] However, the page continued to be mocked through memes on Twitter.[20] The conspiracy continued spreading nonetheless. Actor and politician Mário Frias, then Culture Secretary of the Bolsonaro administration who had known Urandir since 2020,[17] promoted the theory on 14 June 2022[4] — the same week the murder of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips dominated headlines. Frias faced criticism for amplifying both the conspiracy and moral panic about Brazilian sovereignty in the Amazon.[9][17][3]

Due to threats to historical heritage caused by the spread of fake news and misinformation — particularly false connections made between the conspiracy and Forte Príncipe da Beira[8][23] — Brazil's National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage declared these theories false and emphasized that archaeological information about the Fort is publicly available.[1]

See also

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  • Akakor, underground mythical city located in the Brazilian Amazon.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Born in rural São Paulo, he claimed to communicate with [ET] Bilu since age 13, but only revealed this in 2009 - the same year part of Oliveira's farm was expropriated by presidential decree to become a quilombola territory. His company also circulated documents refuting flat Earth theories and anti-vaccine rhetoric."[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Iphan repudia a circulação de informações falsas sobre o Forte Príncipe da Beira". National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  2. ^ Orsi, Carlos (18 June 2022). "Ratanabá, capital do Brasil". Instituto Questão de Ciência (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b Matsuki, Edgard (18 June 2022). "Não é coincidência teoria do Ratanabá viralizar na mesma semana da morte de Dom Phillips e Bruno". Boatos.org. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Mario Frias recebeu empresa que divulga teoria falsa na Secretaria de Cultura". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Ratanabá: entenda o boato sobre a cidade perdida na Amazônia". Jornal Correio. 12 June 2022.
  6. ^ Matsuki, Edgard (12 June 2022). "Ratanabá é uma cidade perdida na Amazônia que existe há milhões de anos e desperta o interesse estrangeiro por riquezas". Boatos.org.
  7. ^ "Suposta cidade perdida da Amazônia vira meme nas redes sociais". O Dia (in Brazilian Portuguese). 14 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Biernath, André (15 June 2022). "Ratanabá: arqueólogo explica por que lenda de 'cidade perdida na Amazônia' não faz sentido". BBC News Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Filho, João (18 June 2022). "Ratanabá: o delírio de uma extrema direita desesperada". The Intercept Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  10. ^ Ribeiro, Leo (15 June 2022). "Depois de propagar ET Bilu, Urandir viraliza no País com mito de Ratanabá". Correio do Estado.
  11. ^ Belic, Gabriel (14 June 2022). "A enganação do momento é 'Ratanabá': haja picareta para desenterrar cidade de 450 milhões de anos!". Estadão Verifica (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  12. ^ "Os Ets de Urandir". ISTOÉ Independente (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 February 2000. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Paulista é preso por vender terrenos em cidade para ETs". Terra. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Justiça determina que Record esclareça matéria sobre ET Bilu". Observatório da Imprensa (in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ Mota, P. H. (26 August 2020). "ET Bilu – Origem e repercussão do personagem + outros memes da época". Segredos do Mundo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  16. ^ ""CQC" tenta desvendar o mistério do ET Bilu". UOL Televisão. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b c Pichonelli, Matheus. "Mistério em Ratanabá: existe vida inteligente no planeta de Mario Frias?". Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  18. ^ Júnior, Rogério; Mesquita, Caroline (18 June 2022). "Especialistas explicam por que 'cidade secreta' de Ratanabá em MT não existe; entenda". G1 MT (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  19. ^ Ribeiro, Andrei; Oliveira, Rebeca (22 November 2022). "Choquei vira fonte de notícias da internet replicando conteúdos sem checagem". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d e "O que é Ratanabá e como essa teoria biruta se espalhou". Núcleo Jornalismo (in Portuguese). 14 June 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Ratanabá: teoria infundada de cidade perdida na Amazônia viraliza". O Povo (in Portuguese). 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Ratanabá: entenda o boato sobre a cidade perdida na Amazônia". Jornal Correio (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 June 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  23. ^ Rosa, Larina. ""Não existe túnel na fortaleza Forte Príncipe da Beira que leve ao centro do mundo", afirma historiador". Diário da Amazônia (in Brazilian Portuguese).
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