A judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraesopened an investigation into Elon Musk after the CEO of Tesla e SpaceX said it wanted to reactivate some of the accounts social Xonce known as Twitter, which had been blocked at the behest of de Moraes.
“We will soon reactivate everything that Alexandre de Moraes banned” Elon Musk wrote two days ago on the social network that the entrepreneur of South African origins acquired in October 2022.
“The judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and the Brazilian people – added Musk -. He should resign or be impeached. Shame on him.”
Replying to a post from another user, containing a photo of de Moraes, Musk called the judge “Brazilian Darth Vader”referring to the well-known evil protagonist of the science fiction film saga Star Wars.
Elon Musk also said that his decision to reactivate Brazilian accounts will likely cause “the loss of all revenues” from Brazil and the possible blocking of social X in the country. “But principles are worth more than profit,” Musk wrote.
Following Musk’s accusations, Judge de Moraes opened an investigation against the entrepreneur, accused in turn of having triggered a disinformation campaign on social media. And he threatened: for each reactivated account X will have to pay a fine of 20 thousand dollars per day and its leaders will have to legally answer for disobedience to the court.
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X’s Global Government Affairs, which deals with the social network’s relationships with governments, announced last April 6 that “X Corp. was forced by court decisions to block some popular accounts in Brazil. We have informed these accounts that we have taken this action.”
It is not known which accounts are blocked to which Elon Musk and his social network referred.
But the profiles seem to be linked to a far-right movement who used X to spread content related to the attack on the Brazilian Congress on January 8th. That day, following the defeat at the polls of Jair Bolsonaroa group of supporters of the former Brazilian president stormed the government headquarters in Brasilia.
“Obstructing Brazilian justice, inciting crime, publicly threatening to disobey court orders and the platform’s lack of cooperation are facts that disrespect Brazil’s sovereignty,” de Moraes wrote in the reasons that led to the investigation on Musk and his social network.
Elon Musk has thus ended up in the crosshairs of the Brazilian Supreme Court together with groups known as “digital militias” that they would have used X to spread fake news and threats against justice.
Alexandre de Moraes is one of the most powerful men in Brazil. The judge is considered a conservative, against abortion and euthanasia, a scourge of left-wing movements, in favor of violent police interventions.
As part of the investigation launched by de Moraes into digital militias, some legislators from the circle of former president Jair Bolsonaro were jailed and the homes of the former president’s supporters were searched. Bolsonaro himself became a target of the investigation in 2021.
Alexandre de Moraes’ measures find favor in Brazil with those who believe that his measures, although extraordinary, are legally valid and necessary to clean social media of fake news and to avoid other threats to Brazilian democracy like the one that led to the January 8, 2023 uprising.
Even the current government of the president Lula supports and defends the actions of the judge. The attorney general, for example, spoke out in his defense Jorge Messias. With harsh words towards Musk.
“We cannot live in a society where billionaires domiciled abroad control social networks and enable themselves to violate the rule of law, disregard court orders and threaten our authorities. Social peace is non-negotiable ” Messias wrote on X.
In recent years, Elon Musk has been self-proclaimed champion of free speech.
“Freedom of expression – Musk wrote several times on But many claim that the entrepreneur is “a hypocrite” since he supports free speech only when it does not harm his interests, his person or his opinions.
Last January, for example, multiple accounts of journalists and people expressing doubts about Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip were suddenly suspended by X.
Musk is also reproached for do business with China – where a huge Gigafactory producing Tesla was recently opened – despite this country being known for its policies that restrict citizens’ freedom of expression.
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– 2024-04-11 03:50:46
