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Elon Musk picked the wrong fight in Brazil, snubs court orders

As the Brazilian Supreme Court begins its crackdown on social-media accounts spreading misinformation and hate speech on X, the billionaire owner of the social media site pledged to disobey legal orders

April 11, 2024 / 07:25 IST
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Regardless of Musk’s motivations, the political impact of his actions in Brazil has been immediate and explosive.

As he has done time and again, Elon Musk has stirred up yet another storm, this time in Brazil.

Over the weekend, X’s billionaire owner pledged to disobey legal orders in Latin America’s largest country amid a dispute with its Supreme Court, which has been cracking down on social-media accounts spreading misinformation and hate speech. The decisions, Musk said, forced X to block users in Brazil including “sitting members of the Parliament and major journalists” under the threat of massive fines if it failed to comply with the order.

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Musk vowed to reinstate the accounts, even if the move eventually means shutting down X in the country altogether, and focused his attacks on Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been leading several high-profile investigations and is considered by some to be the country’s most powerful person. In a cascade of tweets, Musk called Judge de Moraes everything
from a “brutal dictator” to a “shame” and “Brazil’s Darth Vader.”

“This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil,” he posted. “He should resign or be impeached.”