Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) minister and “anti-fake news crusader” Alexandre de Moraes has criticized Elon Musk after he announced that he would defy a Brazilian court order to censor him. and launched an investigation into social media platform X (formerly Twitter). of several accounts. Mr. Musk also called for Mr. de Moraes to resign.
Mr. de Moraes, who is also the head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), opened the session. investigation On Monday, he directed Brazil’s federal police to determine whether Mr. Musk was involved in charges of “obstruction of justice” and “inciting a crime.”
saturday musk announced If X does not comply with Mr. de Moraes’ court order requiring social media platforms to censor a group of Brazilian accounts, they will receive 100,000 Brazilian reals (approx. They risk a fine of $9,770.Masks on Sunday called We call for Mr. de Moraes’ impeachment or resignation.
In a separate post published by the Ta.
Company X was forced by a court ruling to block certain popular accounts in Brazil. We have notified these accounts that we have taken this action.
We do not know why these restraining orders were issued.
We do not know which posts are suspected of violating…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 6, 2024
Musk’s announcement came days after journalist Michael Shellenberger’s. published A series of posts entitled “Twitter Files – Brazil” listed actions and demands made by Mr. de Moraes to censor Brazilian politicians and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.De Moreas too I was demanded to Access to X’s internal user data. This is a violation of the platform’s own privacy policy.
Mr. De Moraes responded to Mr. Musk’s announcement as follows: inquiry It accused Musk and his social media platforms of obstruction of justice and inciting a crime, alleging that Musk had launched a “disinformation campaign” against Brazil’s Supreme Court.
The investigation’s ruling also states that the X social media platform “must comply” with any court orders, including reinstating accounts that Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered X to censor.
On Sunday, De Moraes added Musk to another active investigation launched in July 2021 by STF ministers to investigate suspected “anti-democratic digital militias” that spread “fake news.” .
De Moraes argued that Musk’s inclusion in the investigation was due to an “intentional criminal use” of the social networking platform.
“The current hypothesis therefore characterizes the use of illegal mechanisms by ‘X’. “It also includes the existence of a strong criminal intent by Elon Musk, CEO of the social network X, which has been previously noted and investigated in several investigations.” is reporting. read.
De Moraes, who describes himself as an “anti-fake news campaigner,” has previously used investigations by “anti-democratic digital militias” to launch “Operation Venir,” a wide-ranging investigation into allegations that former President Bolsonaro falsified vaccination documents. ” has been carried out. Travel to the United States. Bolsonaro’s house attacked It will be implemented in May 2023 under Operation Venir.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to reporters in front of his home before getting into his car after federal police officers executed a search and seizure warrant in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Eraldo Perez/Associated Press)
The STF Minister is also known to have said the following: censorship The ruling against Bolsonaro’s 2022 presidential election campaign was a major benefit to the current socialist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the October 2022 runoff.
In recent years, STF ministers have ordered multiple police raids on members of Congress, comedians, content creators, and ordinary Brazilian citizens who expressed support for Bolsonaro during his presidential term (2019-2022).
Both Mr. Lula and Mr. de Moraes, regulation Current status of social media in Brazil. De Moraes in February claimed He said that “general regulation by the National Assembly is necessary to protect democracy,” and that the use of mass media is one of the “big problems” of modern democracies.
On Thursday, June 29, 2023, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, President of the Supreme Electoral Court, arrives to preside over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro at the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil. (Gustavo Moreno/AP)
Mr. de Moraes had a former lawmaker. arrested It forced social media companies to: deplatforming We have restricted access to certain accounts in the past few years.
Recently, Mr. de Moraes raid The raid on the home of Carlos Bolsonaro, one of Bolsonaro’s sons, was part of a broader investigation into illegal espionage activity that occurred during his father’s presidency.demolas ordered Bolsonaro surrendered his passport in February, effectively trapping the former president in the country.
As a member of the TSE, Brazil’s highest electoral authority, Mr. de Moraes is one of the following ministers: Banned Bolsonaro has been suspended from running for office until 2030 after he was accused of spreading “misinformation” about Brazil’s voting machines during an official meeting with foreign ambassadors in July 2022.
