For some time now, close observers of international affairs have heard rumblings about violations of human rights and freedom of expression in Brazil—the second-largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere, behind only the United States.
But apart from honorable mentions by outlets such as The Epoch Times and some independent journalists such as Tucker Carlson (who dedicated an entire prime-time show segment to interviewing me on the subject), the mainstream media in America has largely glossed over what is happening in this strategic ally and economic powerhouse.
Mr. Shellenberger’s meticulous documentation, based on access to internal Twitter communications and legal documentation, lays bare the sweeping censorship campaign allegedly spearheaded by Alexandre de Moraes, a controversial justice on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court. Justice de Moraes is also the powerful head of the country’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
The Twitter Files allege that Justice de Moraes has brazenly imprisoned Brazilian citizens without trial for mere social media posts he subjectively deemed offensive or problematic. He has allegedly repeatedly abused his position to unilaterally demand the removal of users from online platforms, as well as outright censorship of specific posts—all while denying those targeted any right of appeal or even access to the evidence used to persecute them.
More disturbingly, according to the Twitter Files, Justice de Moraes and the Superior Electoral Court under his control illegally demanded that Twitter hand over personal data and IP addresses of users who employed hashtags such as #AuditableDemocraticVote related to calls for greater transparency and auditing of Brazil’s electronic voting systems. They sought to unmask and silence prominent online backers of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a clear and chilling attempt at anti-democratic election interference that ultimately appeared to benefit Mr. Bolsonaro’s rival, the socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is now president.
Indeed, the crackdown has ensnared even some of Brazil’s most prominent media voices. Until 2022, I was the co-host of Brazil’s highest-rated political show on television. On Dec. 30, 2022, I personally suffered from Justice de Moraes’s draconian edict—Twitter and all social media had just two hours to block my accounts with more than 1.4 million followers across Brazilian territory. To this day, despite residing in the United States, I have never been formally notified of any due process or jurisprudence behind this precipitous silencing of my voice. All my social media accounts remain blocked for the Brazilian public on Justice de Moraes’s orders alone.
The government of Mr. da Silva has repeatedly tried to push through a draconian “fake news” bill that would effectively legalize this nationwide censorship regime by compelling social media platforms to comply with vaguely defined takedown demands from authorities. A massive public backlash has stalled the bill’s progress for now, but undeterred, the TSE has already begun unilaterally implementing key provisions.
The Twitter Files also reveal the extent to which Justice de Moraes and the TSE sought to weaponize the platform’s content moderation policies against Bolsonaro supporters, even for U.S. residents. In one instance, the court demanded the removal of an entire account belonging to popular Evangelical pastor André Valadão, who leads a church in Orlando, Florida, without providing any justification or specific violating tweets. Twitter’s appeals were met with threats of exorbitant hourly fines.
Justice de Moraes’s TSE repeatedly ordered the silencing of sitting elected officials, as in the case of Congresswoman Bia Kicis. Her criticism of the court’s excesses on Twitter resulted in immediate demands for censorship, with mere hours given for compliance before massive penalties would be imposed. The TSE’s directives consistently lacked the basic hallmarks of due process, transparency, or respect for parliamentary immunity enshrined in Brazil’s constitution.
No democracy can remain truly free and fair if its citizens are systematically denied the fundamental right to openly debate, scrutinize, and question election policies, systems, and results without fear of retaliation from the very state authorities entrusted to safeguard those freedoms. Brazil stands at a dangerous precipice, with its proud democratic traditions being rapidly eroded and the path to preserving liberty growing narrower by the day.
The world, and America in particular, can no longer avert its gaze from the cautionary tale of what was once South America’s most vibrant and promising democracy slouching perilously close to outright dictatorship under the guise of the digital age. The “Twitter Files Brazil” have sounded the alarm loud and clear about the dire situation unfolding in this strategic nation of more than 200 million people.
But will the American public, distracted by its own domestic rifts, heed the call to denounce the strangulation of freedom in the resplendent nation that has been a U.S. partner for decades? Even Elon Musk, who branded himself a “free speech absolutist,” has remained silent on the censorship fiats emanating from Justice de Moraes and the TSE, which his company continues to enforce.
For the sake of preserving democracy on our continent, the United States must use its considerable influence to demand accountability and the restoration of civil liberties in Brazil before it is too late. The Twitter Files have exposed the anti-democratic abuses—now action must be taken by those believers in freedom and human rights. The world is watching whether the promise of the American experiment will be upheld or indifferently abandoned.
