What Brazilians now feel about lack of X
Some news on the reactions of Brazilian citizens to the disaster their pseudo-justice minister has caused by banning the use of the X platform in the country, in a move that's as much a blow to business as to free speech rights:
The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Sunday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence.A special page was launched on X revealing the illegal orders Moraes made, which Brazil's court is sadly upholding:
The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country, missing a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The blockade marks an escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.
Brazil has been one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users.
“I’ve got the feeling that I have no idea what’s happening in the world right now. Bizarre,” entertainment writer and heavy X user Chico Barney wrote on Threads, a text-based app developed by Instagram that Barney was using as an alternative. “This Threads algorithm is like an all-you-can-eat restaurant where the waiter keeps serving things I would never order.” [...]
Lawmaker Bia Kicis said “the consequences of Alexandre de Moraes’ attacks to Elon Musk, X and Starlink will be regrettable for Brazilians.” She also urged Rodrigo Pacheco, the president of the country’s Senate, to act. Kicis has repeatedly urged Pacheco to open impeachment proceedings against the Supreme Court justice.
“We need to leave this state of apathy and stop the worst from happening,” the pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker, whose profiles were blocked by de Moraes in 2022, also said.
The former president said Saturday on Instagram that X’s departure from Brazil was “another blow to our freedom and legal security.”
“It not only affects our freedom of expression, but also undermines the confidence of international companies in operating on Brazilian soil, with impacts ranging from national security to the quality of the information that reaches our citizens,” Bolsonaro said.
The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) began publishing the “Alexandre Files” files over the weekend in response to Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently ordered the complete suspension of the platform in Brazil.What's happened in Brazil could happen even here, in the USA, and anywhere else in the world if we're not careful.
“Today, we begin shining a light on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes,” The Alexandre Files account said in an opening post on Saturday.
“We have been forced to share these orders because there is no transparency from the court, and the people who are being censored have no recourse to appeal,” the message continues. “Our own appeals have been ignored. And now the people of Brazil are denied access to X. Secret justice is no justice at all. Today, we say that must change.”
Labels: anti-americanism, communications, Latin America, political corruption, United States
