CARACAS — A Venezuelan environmentalist announced this weekend that he would sue retired NFL superstar Drew Brees for starting a “misinformation campaign” against the Catatumbo lightning phenomenon after a video shared on social media showed Brees allegedly being struck by lightning in Catatumbo, Zulia state.
Brees recently filmed a video in Venezuela in which he appeared to be struck by lightning while filming a commercial in the impoverished socialist country for the sports betting website PointsBet. Brees was in Zulia state for an advertising campaign promoting PointsBet sports book’s “free lightning bets.” Zulia is home to the Catatumbo lightning, a unique atmospheric phenomenon that causes an “everlasting” lightning storm.
The controversial video, first published on Friday by Venezuelan journalist Rafael Hernández on his Twitter account, showed the former NFL player apparently preparing to film a commercial before he is seemingly struck by lightning. Hernández did not offer any indication that Brees had not, in fact, been struck by lightning in his initial post.
Hours after the publication, Brees himself clarified on Twitter that he was not actually struck by lighting and the video was a publicity stunt.
“The lightning must’ve thought I was wearing a Falcons jersey, that’s why it tried to get me,” he said. Hernández would confirm hours later that the lightning strike was fake.
“It was all advertising. It is not the first nor the last of its kind. And I took advantage of it to dignify and publicize the beauties of our country: the Catatumbo Lightning. Enjoy the show and life goes on,” Hernández later wrote, explaining why he posted the video.
In an interview given to Venezuelan news website El Pitazo on Saturday, Venezuelan environmentalist Erik Quiroga said that he will seek to sue Brees over the false video on behalf of Catatumbo. Quiroga alleges that Brees’ viral video constitutes a “misinformation campaign” that portrays the unique Catatumbo lightning storms in a negative way, for which he will also demand a public explanation from Brees detailing that everything was staged.
“It demonstrates a disinformation campaign about one of the most extraordinary meteorological phenomena on the planet, turned into advertising merchandise without any scruples,” Quiroga protested, “which deserves the strongest repudiation and pronouncement of the relevant organizations to initiate a lawsuit against Drew Brees and the promoters of the media show, to stop the infamous campaign against Catatumbo Lightning and indemnify the inhabitants of the Catatumbo municipality, who will be affected by the negative impact of the media show.”
The environmentalist also explained that the lightning phenomenon occurs seven kilometers above the ground, and therefore, the chances of being struck by it are slim.
“In the last 26 years [that Quiroga spent studying the phenomenon], that has never happened,” he added.
The Catatumbo lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon that causes a near-perpetual lighting storm in the region, with roughly 1.6 million lightning strikes per year. The phenomenon occurs for roughly 300 days per year and can last up to nine hours per day.
In 2016, NASA declared Catatumbo the lightning capital of the world. The Guinness World Records organization recognized Catatumbo as the location with the “highest concentration of lightning” in 2013.
Quiroga asserted that lawyers will determine if the legal process against Brees will take place in either Venezuelan or American courts.
Douglas Rico, the head of Venezuela’s Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (CICPC) commented on the situation via his Twitter account on Friday.
“Generating fake news can be a crime punishable by [Venezuelan] law. Creating alarms and misinformation throughout the Venezuelan population produces a great impact for peace and citizen security,” Rico’s post read.
Remigio Ceballos, the Maduro regime’s Minister of Internal Relations, Justice and Peace also commented on the incident via Twitter on Saturday.
“In addition to the flagrant violation of the Special Law Against Computer Crimes, making deceptive offers, generating false alarms and fear, violates the Venezuelan Penal Code and can be punished by law, in addition to generating unrest and misinformation affecting pace and security,” his post on Twitter read.
While environmentalist Erik Quiroga stated that his lawsuit efforts count on the support of the office of the mayor of Catatumbo — currently occupied by Venezuelan “opposition” member Fernando Loaiza Chacon — Mayor Loaiza Chacon has not yet publicly commented on the matter at press time.
Brees’ marketing stunt drew strong criticism from the Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International organization (LSESSI), who told TMZ Sports on Friday that the video was “inappropriate” and “disgusting.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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