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Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro hailed Elon Musk at a rally in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, saying the billionaire has stood up for freedom of expression — which the former president claims is at risk in his country.<\/p>\n
Musk, whose ownership of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has provoked widespread controversy, “is a man who really preserves freedom for all of us,” the far-right leader told the rally on Rio’s famed Copacabana beach.<\/p>\n
Musk is under investigation in Brazil after he accused a Supreme Court justice this month of censoring social networks, calling him a “dictator” and vowing to disobey rulings to block users found to be spreading disinformation.<\/p>\n
But Bolsonaro told his thousands of supporters on the beach Sunday that the billionaire “had the courage to show, with some evidence … where our democracy was going, how much freedom we have already lost.”<\/p>\n
The 69-year-old also denounced a “dictatorship” in Brazil and called on supporters to “continue the fight” to defend freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
The judge Musk targeted, Alexandre de Moraes, has waged a crusade against disinformation, especially attempts by far-right supporters of Bolsonaro to discredit Brazil’s voting system.<\/p>\n
Brazilian authorities are investigating whether Bolsonaro plotted an attempted coup to prevent his 2022 election opponent and current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from assuming office in January 2023.<\/p>\n
Online users blocked by Moraes include figures like far-right ex-congressman Daniel Silveira, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2022 on charges of leading a movement to overthrow the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Musk had vowed to reinstate blocked accounts on X, saying: “We will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there” but “principles matter more than profit.”<\/p>\n
He has not followed through on his threats, however, and the Brazilian office of X has said it will comply with court orders to block users spreading disinformation.<\/p>\n
Moraes has responded to Musk’s attacks by ordering fines of 100,000 reais (around $20,000) a day for any blocked account that X reactivates.<\/p>\n
Accusing Musk of “criminal instrumentalization” of the platform, Moraes also placed the Tesla and SpaceX boss under investigation for crimes including conspiracy and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n
“Where are the massive crowds cheering for petty tyrant @Alexandre de Voldemort and censorship in Brazil? There are none,” one X user wrote Sunday, responding to images of the rally.<\/p>\n
“Because he is against the will of the people and, therefore, democracy,” Musk wrote in reply.<\/p>\n
Brazil is part of a growing international debate about the limits of free speech on social media, where some say a free-for-all approach endangers democracy.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro’s Rio rally follows a Sao Paulo gathering of his supporters in February that researchers said attracted around 185,000 people.<\/p>\n
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