Elon Musk Over the weekend, it became embroiled in a war of words with the Brazilian government, which has reportedly launched an investigation into X’s owner’s refusal to police misinformation on the social media site. While Musk insists the fight is all about “free speech,” that argument quickly falls apart when you remember that the tech CEO has been bending to the will of authoritarian governments.
Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, an ally of current left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reportedly ordered X to suspend the country in recent days some accounts because part of the investigation Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro staged a coup last year.
Bolsonaro tweets 2022 video of himself with Musk SaturdayHundreds of followers storm federal building after losing re-election bid in late 2022 January 8, 2023, working to keep the former president in power. Bolsonaro is currently being investigated for his role in the coup, following the lead of former President Donald Trump in falsely claiming there was widespread fraud in the election.
Musk called the order to suspend some X accounts in Brazil “aggressive censorship” while vowing not to obey the court order because “principles are more important than profits.” The billionaire promised to close the company’s offices in Brazil rather than review the accounts and made exaggerated claims about what actually happened.
“This is the toughest requirement of any country on earth!” Musk Tweet on Sunday.
Of course, this statement is ridiculous on its face, when you remember that X isn’t even allowed to operate in China – where Musk has significant investments with Tesla. Anyone familiar with Musk’s history of acquiescing to various authoritarian states, from China to Turkey to India, will recognize that he did not mount a similar fight when equally picky governments wanted to ban speech.
For Brazilian officials, it’s an effort to counter a far-right movement that is effectively trying to overthrow the government. Brazilian Attorney General Jorge Mecias criticized Musk’s claims about suppressing speech, noting that billionaires living in other countries should not control social media platforms that spread misinformation in Brazil.
“We cannot live in a society where billionaires living abroad control social networks and put themselves in situations where they violate the rule of law, do not comply with court orders and threaten our authorities,” Mesias wrote. Sunday Based on English translation.
How does Musk feel about government censorship requirements in countries where he seeks to open new Tesla factories or roll out SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet? Musk is widely believed to be simply complying with local laws, as you can see in the example on our slideshow.