About

The news tells you what happened. Here you understand why.

Antes da Manchete ("Before the Headline") tells the story behind the news on war, politics and geopolitics. When a headline mentions Ukraine, Iran or the US Congress, we go back in time to show how we got there, sometimes centuries earlier.

We also tell the stories of real people, many of them Brazilian, who changed the course of events and were later forgotten.

The site is written in Brazilian Portuguese first. Selected stories are translated into English.

How the site is organized

This week: the main story of the week, explained calmly.
The story behind: the roots of a conflict or crisis.
People: real people who changed history.
Coming soon: Explained in 5 minutes, Why it matters for Brazil, and Mysteries.

What every story includes

The short answer, right at the top, for readers in a hurry.
A timeline, from the start of the story to today.
The sources at the end, with links.
The date of the last update whenever the story changes.

Who writes it

Felipe Cruz is from Santa Catarina, Brazil, and has studied geopolitics and history since age 15. Felipe created Antes da Manchete to tell, in a neutral and objective way, the history that explains the news: with sources in plain sight, checked dates and facts kept apart from opinion.

Stories are researched and drafted with the help of artificial intelligence tools, then reviewed by Felipe Cruz, who is responsible for the content. They are published under the byline "the Antes da Manchete team". See how we fact-check.

Want to suggest a topic or point out an error? Get in touch.