- Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Sunday included Elon Musk as a target in the country's ongoing inquiry on the so-called digital militias and opened a separate investigation into him for obstruction of justice and incitement of crime. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- This comes as over the weekend, Musk called for the judge to "resign or be impeached" and declared that X, formerly known as Twitter, would reinstate accounts in defiance of alleged unconstitutional court orders. Wall Street Journal (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Justice de Moraes further set a daily fine of about $20K (R$100K) for each account whose restrictions the social media platform lifts against previous court orders. CNBC (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- While it remains unclear whether Brazil will eventually cut off access to X, formerly Twitter, Musk posted instructions for Brazilians on how to install a virtual private network to bypass regional restrictions. Forbes (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Last week, the latest Twitter Files release claimed that de Moraes has carried out a "sweeping" crackdown on free speech in the country, citing abusive and unusual demands to the platform in the lead-up to the 2022 presidential elections. Verity
- Forbes reported last April that X's full compliance with government censorship requests had increased since he took over the company. Verge (LR: 2 CP: 3)
Left narrative:
- Elon Musk, who cast himself as a free speech crusader, has shown his utter disregard for both the democratic rule of law, as he has outrageously sought to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation with his recent spate of attacks on the judiciary. Now more than ever, it's clear why social media must be subject to regulation.
EFE NOTICIAS
Right narrative:
- As free speech has come under attack around the free world, Brazil has served as an experimental hub to assist tyrants refine their totalitarian methods. Thus, it's not surprising that Elon Musk is now under investigation after stepping in to denounce the sweeping censorship efforts in the country and protect its citizens' rights.
NOT THE BEE
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 2% chance that Elon Musk will hold major political office in the United States before February 2033, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)