CIt is a modern match that is being played in Brazil from Saturday. Since a judge of the Federal Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, a figure in the fight against disinformation, ordered suspension of the social networkex-Twitter. Thus interrupting the “power” of this platform, it plunged its 22 million subscribers into the digital silence of a huge white area, and its illustrious owner, American billionaire Elon Musk, into black fury.
However, if Brazilian justice chose the hard way, we cannot compare this Latin American giant with Iran, China or North Korea, three countries – among others… -, where they were banned to avoid any dispute. Of course, Elon Musk did not fail to denounce a serious attack on freedom of expression. And actually, the suspension of a social network is never neutral because in many cases there are political motivations behind these cuts. In Venezuela, the president re-elected this summer – but challenged – Nicolás Maduro also ordered the suspension of X…
“When free speech turns into misinformation and manipulation, there is danger”
However, the Brazilian case is different. Judge Moraes believes that this social network is trying to get rid of “judicial power”. And this with a specific purpose: “To create a climate of total impunity and “anarchy” on social networks, especially in the 2024 municipal elections, he accuses X of reactivating accounts suspended by the courts. However, far-right supporters of ousted president Jair Bolsonaro have not disarmed, as it turned out their coup attempt in Brazil in January 2023… In this sense, social networks no longer need to demonstrate their power. On Twitter in December 2020, Donald Trump called his supporters for a “big wild demonstration” in Washington on January 6, 2021 to try to invalidate the election of Joe Biden; demonstration that resulted storming the Capitol and which led to the prosecution of former US President…
For Elon Musk, nothing shocking, though. Immediately after buying Twitter, she reopened the account of Donald Trump, whose campaign she now supports. That social media has become the realm of conspiracy theorists is nothing new. But in an increasingly global and digitized world, when free speech turns into misinformation and manipulation, there is danger. This fight must be fought. And even more so when these social networks have become real Goliaths.