Fraser Myers
X, the social-media giant owned by Elon Musk, has officially been banned in Brazil. Last night, X failed to meet a deadline set by a Supreme Court judge to block vast swathes of content and appoint a local legal representative for the company. It has now gone offline to its 22million Brazilian users – roughly one tenth of the national population.
The Brazilian elites loathe X for precisely the same reason as the elites across the rest of the democratic world do – they blame it for the spread of so-called disinformation, particularly since it was taken over by Musk and its content-moderation policies were relaxed. Just as disinformation has been blamed for Brexit in the UK and Trump’s election in the US, it is blamed in Brazil for the 2018 election of right-wing firebrand Jair Bolsonaro – and especially for his supporters’ storming of the Brazilian congress in 2023 after he failed to win re-election (a kind of ‘January 6’ tribute act). Essentially, elites believe that fake news, by boosting populist movements, poses a direct challenge to their rule.
The censorship orders from judge Alexandre de Moraes, which X and Musk refused to comply with, make this all too clear. While Moraes claims he is merely trying to tackle disinformation, hate speech or what he calls ‘digital militias’ (those users promoting content that supposedly undermines democracy or the rule of law), his demands are nakedly political. As the New York Times reports, X was ordered to ban over 140 accounts, among them some of Brazil’s most prominent right-wing pundits and even elected members of congress. X has refused to comply as it says these takedown orders are themselves illegal and unconstitutional.
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