-Twitter is getting banned in Brazil? -What the hell is happening? -Is Brazil censoring Twitter? -Why is this…

-Twitter is getting banned in Brazil? -What the hell is happening? -Is Brazil censoring Twitter? -Why is this happening? Here is a comprehensive explanation of the running feud between X / Elon Musk and the Brazilian Supreme Court, and all the events that led up to it🧵

Ever since 2020, Brazil's Supreme court, also known as STF, took their sights to online misinformation. At the time, there were a number of high profile influencers, religious figures and politicians spreading harmful lies about the newly released COVID vaccine.

In 2021, Brazil's STF Justice Moraes ordered social media platforms to remove disinfo related to COVID-19, the integrity of the electoral process, and attacks on democratic institutions. Twitter complied with some orders, but resisted others.

Things start to escalate post 2022 elections. After Bolsonaro's defeat, a number of his supporters rushed our congress, in an act of insurgency. As this happened, many right wing politicians and influencers started to post all sorts of call-to-arms, supporting the coup attempt.

This desperate scenario called for desperate measures, and Justice Moraes began to personally prosecute and fine insurgents and their supporters. This led to him being labelled as a tyrannical enemy by right wing outlets. Musk joined in by expressing his "concern"

Ever since then, Musk has become more and more antagonistic towards Justice Moraes, mocking him, calling for his impeachment, and even going as far as further fueling insurrectionist rhetoric. X ceased to comply with court orders, and our judicial system in general.

This led to this month's escalation, where Moraes threatened to jail X's legal representative in Brazil. Musk simply chose to close down the office, leaving X completely rogue before our law.

This is were we are now: Yesterday, 8:00 PM UTC-3, Moraes sent an ultimatum to X: Either comply, or be taken offline in 24 hours.

STF@STF_oficial · Aug 28, 2024

@GlobalAffairs @GlobalAffairs @elonmusk Mandado de intimação

The outcome of this is still uncertain. Brazil is X's 6th largest consumer, so logically, it would be in their best interests to reestablish legal rep and avoid this whole situation. This has been Musk's reaction, however:

Why is this happening? Because Musk is a far-right troll, simple as. This whole show he is putting on is a dangerous attempt at undermining our democratically elected government’s efforts to squash far-right extremism.

The saddest thing is, that while trying to paint Brazil as some sort of dictatorship, he is actively showing his support for the ilk that tried to not only throw a coup, but have many times expressed their desire to establish a military dictatorship here.

30/08 Update: The 24 hour deadline is over, but X remains accessible. Our telecommunication regulatory agency (ANATEL) awaits STF's order to block X in Brazil. This will then be passed down to our Internet Service Providers, which means the block won't happen instantaneously.

Other developments include Musk's and Starlink's assets in Brazil being frozen, to avoid non-payment of X's fines. X's previous appeals have also been rejected.

Update: President Lula commented over X's / STF situation on a radio interview. Full translation in annexed picture: g1.globo.com/politica/notic…

Update: Justice Moraes has sent the go ahead for ANATEL to cut access to X, nationwide. ANATEL now has 24 hours to carry this order. Companies or people accessing X after the ban may be fined.

My final thoughts on this whole situation: I think the fine over using X is a real dick move on STF's part. I was planning on still VPN'ing in. That being said, to keep using X after it has been weaponized into a fash propaganda machine by Elon feels... it feels wrong. 1/2

This might just be the final push I needed to move away somewhere else where both my content, art, and time spent doesn't translate into revenue to some Evil Fucking Manchild. Cheers, and catch you all anywhere else on the tubes. 2/2