Tuesday 20 October

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#Brazil

  1. Social media users claim the Vinícius Júnior who played for Brazil against Australia on Friday was a lookalike, not the real player.
  2. The theory rests on his changed face after a non-surgical chin treatment in July, some tattoo "comparisons" and a poor 65-minute display.
  3. There is no evidence for it. What is real is his form: one goal in eight games for Real Madrid this season, though he scored a penalty in Brazil’s 4-2 win over Australia in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Gist Reel

Athletes · 6 min read

No, Vinícius Júnior has not been replaced by a double. Here’s the real gist

A cosmetic treatment, a flat night in Townsville and a flood of memes have produced football's strangest rumour of the month. The truth is less spooky: one of the world's best wingers is in the worst slump of his Real Madrid career.

Updated 13:22 WAT, 29 Sep 2026: Vinícius started and scored a penalty as Brazil beat Australia 4-2 in Brisbane on Tuesday. See "What happened in Brisbane" below. Vinícius Júnior has spent years being called many things by opposition fans. This month, a noisy corner of the internet came up with a new one: impostor. After Brazil's 1-1 draw with Australia…

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  1. Datafolha runoff poll: Lula 47%, Flávio Bolsonaro 45%, within the margin of error
  2. First round: Lula 40%, Bolsonaro 36%, both well short of the 50% needed to win
  3. Voting is on 4 October, with a runoff on 25 October if needed
Gist Reel

Politics · 2 min read

Brazil election: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro neck and neck before 4 October

A Datafolha poll gives Lula 47% and Flávio Bolsonaro 45% in a likely runoff, a statistical tie with Brazil's first round less than a week away.

Brazil goes to the polls on Sunday 4 October, and the presidential race could hardly be tighter. A Datafolha poll published on 24 September puts President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 47% in a head-to-head runoff, against 45% for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. With a margin of error of two percentage points, pollsters call that a technical tie. Datafolha surveyed…

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