Twitter, Facebook block accounts of Bolsonaro allies for disinformation
Twitter and Facebook suspended the accounts Friday of 16 allies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro after a Supreme Court judge ordered them blocked as part of a probe into an alleged disinformation campaign.
Tension has been soaring between the far-right leader and the court, which is investigating allegations that members of his inner circle ran a social media campaign to discredit the court, together with slander and threaten its judges.
Both US social media giants are also facing increasing pressure to do something more aggressively against hate speech and false information on the platforms.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his court order-which enforced a youthful May ruling-the accounts should be blocked to avoid “the ongoing dissemination of fake news, slanderous accusations, threats and crimes” against the court.
The damaged accounts include high-profile figures such as for example conservative former lawmaker Roberto Jefferson, business magnate Luciano Hang and far-right activist Sara Winter.
People to their Facebook and Twitter pages in Brazil, though not other countries, saw messages indicating these were blocked.
“This article isn’t available right now,” read their Facebook pages.
A Twitter notice explained: “Account withheld in Brazil in response to a legal demand”.
A linked message said the business “was compelled to withhold the initial Tweet in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order.”
The owners of the blocked accounts reacted furiously.
Winter called the court order worth a “dictatorship,” while Jefferson drew a comparison to Nazi Germany.
