Thought Leadership
A Brazilian federal judge has the successor platform to Twitter blocked. The right-wing ex-president Bolsonaro calls him a “dictator” – although he himself once ruled in an authoritarian style.
Following the blocking of the online platform X in Brazil, former President Jair Bolsonaro has mobilized thousands of supporters for a street protest against the judge responsible, Alexandre de Moraes. At a rally on Brazil’s Independence Day on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, Bolsonaro called for impeachment proceedings against Moraes. He called the judge of the Supreme Federal Court a “dictator”.
Moraes ordered the shutdown of X in the South American country on August 30. He accuses the Twitter successor service of not taking decisive enough action against the spread of hate speech and fake news. X owner Elon Musk, who himself now represents positions on the political right, sees himself as a defender of free speech and accuses Moraes of censorship.
The judge had demanded that X block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk described this as unlawful, the US platform did not comply with the request – and did not pay the fine imposed. The billionaire also missed a deadline to appoint a legal X representative in Brazil.
Bolsonaro calls for amnesty for convicted supporters
Moraes had already opened an investigation against Musk himself in April for obstruction of justice and incitement to commit crimes. Bolsonaro then held a rally “in defense of freedom of expression” on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in front of thousands of supporters.
Particularly during Bolsonaro’s term of office (2019-2022), supporters of the right-wing head of state organized smear campaigns against political opponents and spread misinformation and hate speech on social networks. A so-called hate cabinet in Bolsonaro’s presidential office is said to have organized smear campaigns against political opponents and spread doubts about Brazil’s electoral system.
At the demonstration on Saturday, the former head of state also once again called for an amnesty for his supporters who had been sentenced to prison for the attack on the government district in Brasília on January 8, 2023. Bolsonaro is also the subject of several investigations. Among other things, the police accuse the ex-military man of being involved in plans for a coup d’état in order to stay in power after his election defeat in October 2022. He is banned from holding public office until 2030.
dpa
