“Digital militias”
Brazil’s judiciary opens an investigation against Musk
Elon Musk is considered an advocate of free speech. Recently, however, his Platform X was also used in Brazil to spread hate speech and disinformation. Musk is now under investigation.
As part of the investigation, Moraes ordered the closure of several suspect accounts on Musk’s messaging platform X, formerly Twitter. “This judge has shamelessly and repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and the Brazilian people,” Musk wrote on X over the weekend. “He should resign or be removed. Shame on you, Alexandre, shame.” He also threatened to publish details of the order to block the X accounts, something the Supreme Court had previously banned.
Musk sees himself as a defender of free speech. However, his network was recently used in Brazil to mobilize for anti-democratic actions. A so-called hate cabinet in Bolsonaro’s presidential office is said to have organized smear campaigns against political opponents and cast doubt on the Brazilian electoral system. “Social networks are not a legal vacuum,” Judge Moraes wrote in his investigative order, according to media reports.