Viral video shows grocery store in Brazil, not Colorado | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Venezuelans taking over Colorado grocery store
A Sept. 9 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows an Instagram video of shoppers carrying armfuls of groceries down a supermarket aisle.
“Venezuelans over run a store in Colorado (sic),” reads text in the video, which also states its location as “Aurora Park.”
The Instagram video received more than 1,500 likes before it was deleted. It was shared thousands of times on TikTok and accumulated thousands of additional reposts on X, formerly Twitter before it was deleted there, too.
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Our rating: False
The grocery store is located in Brazil. A sign in the video bears the name of a Brazilian supermarket chain that does not operate a location in Aurora, Colorado.
Signs in Portuguese indicate supermarket is in Brazil, not Colorado
The claim taps into concerns stemming from unfounded reports that a Venezuelan street gang took control of a Colorado apartment complex. While authorities in the Denver suburb of Aurora acknowledge the Tren de Aragua gang has a “presence” there, they said the apartment building in question has not been “taken over.”
But the claim in the post is false. The grocery store shown in the video is not located in Colorado. It’s in Brazil, as numerous clues make clear.
Fact check: Shelter-in-place order in Aurora, Colorado, unrelated to gang activity
A sign visible in the background reads “Bompreço,” the Brazilian Portuguese word for “good price” and the name of a regional supermarket chain in Brazil once owned by Walmart before it was rebranded in 2021. There is no business in Aurora with that name.
An end-of-aisle marker lists items found in aisle No. 13, and they include “leite condensado,” “cremes de leite” and “mistura p/ bolos.” Those are the Brazilian Portuguese words for condensed milk, creams and cake mix, respectively.
At one point in the video, shoppers are seen carrying Dona Benta packages. That Brazilian company produces flour, pasta and pre-made baking mixes. Those products are not widely available in American supermarkets.
USA TODAY previously debunked a false claim that a video shows Hells Angels motorcycling to Colorado to confront the Venezuelan gang and that a shelter-in-place order in Aurora was related to the gang.
USA TODAY reached out to multiple social media users who shared the video but did not immediately receive responses.
Our fact-check sources:
Google Translate, accessed Sept. 12, Bompreço
Google Translate, accessed Sept. 12, Leite condensado
Google Translate, accessed Sept. 12, Cremes de leite
Google Translate, accessed Sept. 12, Mistura para bolos
Reuters, Aug. 12, 2019, Walmart brand to be dropped from supermarkets in Brazil
Emerging Markets Today, July 24, 2023, The Walmart Journey in Brazil: A Tale of Rise, Decline, and Acquisition
Cozinha Dona Benta, accessed Sept. 12, Noticias
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grocery store in this video is in Brazil, not Colorado | Fact check