Tag: brazil

Brazil’s $9,000 Fine For Accessing X Puts “Wall Of Censorship” Between Citizens And Unregulated Information

Brazil has not just banned X (formerly Twitter) from the entire country, but citizens will now be fined $9,000 a day (more than the average salary in the country) for using VPNs to access the platform. X is the main source of news for Brazilians, who will now be left with government-approved sources or face financial ruin in seeking unfettered information.

The Guardian is reporting that the confiscatory fines are part of a comprehensive crackdown on efforts to get news through X, including ordering all Apple stores to remove X from new phones.

The move puts Brazil with China in the effort to create a wall of censorship between citizens and unregulated information.

For the anti-free speech movement, Brazil is a key testing ground for where the movement is heading next. European censors are arresting CEOs like Pavel Durov while threatening Elon Musk.

However, it is Brazil that foreshadows the brave new world of censorship where entire nations will block access to sites committed to free speech values or unfettered news. If successful, the Brazilian model is likely to be replicated by other countries.

The reason is that censorship is not working. As discussed in my book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” we have never seen the current alliance of government, corporate, academic, and media interest against free speech. Yet, citizens are not buying it.

Despite unrelenting attacks and demonizing media coverage, citizens are still using X and resisting censorship. That was certainly the case in Brazil where citizens preferred X to regulated news sources. The solution is now to threaten citizens with utter ruin if they seek unfettered news.

The question is whether Brazil’s leftist government can get away with this. The conflict began with demands to censor supporters of the conservative former president Jair Bolsonaro. When X refused the sweeping demands for censorship, including the demand to name of a legal representative who could be arrested for refusing to censor users, the courts moved toward this national ban.

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BRAZILIAN CONFUSION: Hefty Fines for Accessing Social Media Platform X via VPN Were NOT Rescinded – What Changed Was that VPNs Are Not Outright Banned In the Country Anymore

Brazil, thy name is confusion.

There is a saying here in the ‘tropical country’ that says: ‘Brazil is for professionals‘.

Being born and raised here, we are used to a maze of bureaucracy and a general lack of clarity in all public matters.

Following the blocking of the social platform X in Brazil, a question that was raised by freedom lovers worldwide was the usage of VPN’s by Brazilian users to bypass this spurious prohibition.

This was highly anticipated by our Supreme Court overlords, who decided in a first moment to prohibit the usage of VPN, as well as instituting a 50k reals (over $9k) fine for using VPNs to access X.

This decision was later partially reformed, and that’s where the confusion started.

Some social media users (I saw it posted by DogeDesigner/@cb_doge and also by Charlie Kirk/@Charliekirk11) are suggesting that the fines for accessing X via VPN were rescinded – which would in fact be a victory for free speech.

But that is not the case – as much as I can find.

In fact, what changed is the previous decision to make VPN forbidden in Brazil. That is no longer the case, which is good news for the 75 million VPN users in Brazil.

But it is still forbidden to use this technology to access X, and the fines are still on, although there is some level of push back from the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB).

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Lula’s Leftist Party, PT Brasil, Continues to Post on X Despite Ban of Ordinary Citizens Using the Platform in the Country

The hypocrisy of these leftists never ceases to amaze… but wow, Lula’s government may have just taken the cake.

In one of the most brazen examples of “rules for thee, but not for me,” Brazilian President Lula’s ‘Workers Party’ continues to post repeatedly on X, despite yesterday’s implementation of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ nationwide ban against the social media platform.

Hundreds of millions of citizens are now blocked from accessing their accounts after Lula’s feud with Elon Musk reached a tipping point on Friday when the socialist tyrant implemented the ban. Supposedly, the only way around this firewall is by using a VPN, however, if anyone is caught accessing the platform, they face heavy fines.

The ruling specifically mentioned Proton VPN, Express VPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, TOTALVPN, Atlas VPN, and Bitdefender VPN. De Moraes imposed fines of up to $8,874 a day for any user found using VPNs in Brazil.

Repeat offenders would likely face even worse repercussions. As has been demonstrated thoroughly, Brazil’s current government has proven it will go that extra mile to silence dissent.

This, however, is of no concern to the tyrants within the Lula regime. Since going into effect, ‘PT Brasil‘, the X account representing the ruling socialist party, has not skipped a beat in delivering its regularly scheduled lineup of propaganda.

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Elon Musk Fires Off Warning to Americans After Brazil Bans X

Elon Musk fired off a warning to Americans after radical Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes blocked X in Brazil.

The Brazilian Supreme Court Justice claimed he is banning X from Brazil because Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative to the country.

X’s Global Affairs disputed this Thursday evening.

“Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents. These enemies include a duly elected Senator and a 16-year-old girl, among others,” X’s Global Affairs said.

“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him,” Global Affairs said.

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Report: US State Department Funded the Censorship Ecosystem in Brazil to Subvert Bolsonaro Administration – As the Biden Regime Sent CIA, Defense Department, US Military Officials to Brazil to Interfere with Election

In January 2023, as The Gateway Pundit reported at the time, the Biden regime began deporting Brazilian opposition leaders back to Brazil following the surprise election victory by socialist criminal Lula da Silva.

In July 2024, Brazil’s Federal Police indicted popular former President Jair Bolsonaro for ‘money laundering and criminal association.’ The charges were reportedly related to ‘undeclared diamonds’ received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office.

This was nothing new. The Lula regime has been targeting and persecuting Bolsonaro and his supporters since they took office in 2023. Lula, the communist, was taking lessons from the Biden regime and their brazen and nonstop political persecution of President Donald Trump, parents, devout Catholics, pro-Life activists, and Trump supporters since taking office in 2021.

So it should come as no surprise that the Biden regime has been openly supporting Lula da Silva, the socialist tyrant in Brazil, prior to the presidential elections. And now we know that the US State Department was funding the censorship ecosystem in Brazil with tens of millions of dollars.

Foreign Policy reported prior to the 2022 presidential elections on how Joe Biden and the CIA were working to ensure a Lula win in Brazil.

“How Team Biden Tried to Coup-Proof Brazil’s Elections,” read the headline.

According to reports, top Biden officials from the White House, Defense Department, State Department, and CIA all participated in threatening the Bolsonaro administration in rare, escalating diplomatic meetings.

Joe Biden’s CIA director, William Burns, and National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, both traveled to Brazil to meet with senior Brazilian officials and warn them that Bolsonaro should stop casting doubt on his country’s electoral process. It was the opening gambit in a quiet campaign by Washington to replace Bolsonaro, the popular people’s candidate, with the socialist tool Lula da Silva.

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Brazil Threatens To Block Access to X Within 24 Hours After the Platform Refused To Censor

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has set a stringent deadline for Elon Musk, the owner of the social network X, and its CEO Linda Yaccarino, to appoint a local legal representative for the platform in Brazil. The ultimatum was clear: do so within 24 hours or see the social network suspended in the nation. This directive came to light following a court ruling on Wednesday.

Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts critical of the government and remove specific posts it accused of spreading “misinformation” related to Brazil’s electronic voting system and promoting “hate speech.” The targeted accounts were often associated with supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro and were linked to investigations into what the court described as “digital militias” accused of disseminating false information.

Additionally, some profiles were connected to the January 8, 2023 riot, where Bolsonaro supporters stormed key government buildings in protest.

The confrontation between Brazilian authorities and X has intensified this month, with the platform announcing that it would shutter its Brazilian operations and lay off local staff after Moraes threatened to arrest X staff in the country if the platform didn’t cave to its censorship demands.

Despite X shutting down its operations in the region, X said that it would continue to allow Brazilian citizens to access the website.

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VPNs Vanish from Brazil’s App Store as Internet Freedom Faces Unprecedented Clampdown

In Brazil, a significant upheaval in digital privacy and access to information is unfolding, as a notable number of reputable VPN services—including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and VyprVPN—have vanished from the local iOS App Store. This move is widely believed to comply with Brazilian authorities’ secret directives, reflecting a concerning trend towards online censorship.

This development is particularly alarming in light of the recent decision X made to shutdown its operations in the country. X terminated its operations after a protracted legal confrontation with Brazilian officials, who had accused the platform of insufficient efforts to combat disinformation, specifically its failure to block accounts spreading false information and hate speech. Despite the shutdown, X’s app is still accessible in Brazil.

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Doctors Killed in Brazilian Plane Crash Promised to Release Evidence Tying mRNA ‘Vaccines’ to Turbo Cancer

The other day, we reported that eight of the 62 (not 68 as was originally reported) people who died in the recent ATR 72 turboprop plane crash in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were doctors headed to an important oncology conference. It has since come out that six of these eight were also scientists who planned to expose mRNA (modRNA) “vaccines” as a cause of turbo cancer.

The following six scientists were planning to do a really good thing before someone sabotaged the plane they were traveling on to ensure their message was never sent or received:

1) Dr. José Roberto Leonel Ferreira, a senior radiologist who had a significant impact in the field of radiology, particularly in pediatric radiology

2) Dr. Mariana Belim, an intensivist in the Adult ICU at the Western Paraná University Hospital (Huop)

3) Dr. Ariane Risso, also from the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel

4) Edilson Hobold, a professor of physical education

5) Deonir Secco, a professor of agricultural engineering

6) Raquel Ribeiro Moreira, a literature professor at the Cascavel campus

All six of these individuals were highly respected professionals in their respective fields. The purpose of their travel was to share their expertise in front of a large audience, which apparently had to be stopped to keep a lid on the truth.

The other two medical professionals who perished were resident medics, reports indicate.

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X Draws the Line in Brazil, Shuts Down Local Operations Amid Censorship Clash

As part of a dramatic escalation of conflict between private sector principles and local judiciary mandates, X announced the immediate cessation of its operations in Brazil this Saturday. The company attributed its decision to direct threats against its legal team by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who issued secret orders demanding compliance with censorship directives.

According to a statement from X, Justice de Moraes threatened to arrest their legal representative in Brazil unless the platform adhered to these orders. The company disclosed this information publicly, sharing the secretive order to highlight what it perceives as an abuse of power. “Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share here to expose his actions,” the statement read.

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Brazilian Censorship Scandal: Twitter Files Shows How Government and Big Tech Silence Dissent

The latest development in the Twitter Files suggests that a concerted initiative backed by the Brazilian government is threatening freedom of speech across the globe in coordination with various high-profile tech companies. According to the allegations brought forth by investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters are specifically in the crosshairs of this extensive campaign.

At the helm of this scheme, as Shellenberger suggests, is Alexandre de Moraes, the superior electoral court’s chief and a participant in Supreme court proceedings and someone whose push for censorship has been documented heavily.

He is purportedly leading a combined legislative and judicial endeavor to stifle political dissent. Shellenberger unveils some quite disturbing actions allegedly enforced by de Moraes, including imprisoning individuals sans trial for content shared on the web, the requirement of user-removal from social media sites and specific content censorship without the ability to appeal or access evidence produced against them.

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