Meta and Google Remove Content Supporting Attacks on Anti-democratic Demonstrators in Brazil

Former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, lost the election. (photo: em.com)

JAKARTA – Facebook's parent company, Meta Platform Inc., and Google-owned video platform, YouTube, said on Monday January 9 that they were removing content that supports the attack on Brazilian government buildings by anti-democratic protesters last weekend.

Tens of thousands of supporters of Brazil's far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro smashed windows of the presidential palace, flooded parts of Congress with sprinkler systems and ransacked the Supreme Court in the mutiny that lasted more than three hours.

"Prior to the election, we designated Brazil a temporary high-risk location and had removed content calling for people to take up arms or storm the Congress, Presidential palaces and other federal buildings by force," a spokeswoman for Meta said in a statement.

Indians stand with the people of Brazil! Take back your country from Liberal frauds! Wonder what will happen during the 2024 election in India. Let’s hope @INCIndia doesn’t cheat! Bring back @jairbolsonaro pic.twitter.com/vuhwrB4wpU

— GOON (@DROPPINLIBS) January 9, 2023

"We also designate this as a violating event, meaning we will remove content that supports or glorifies the act," Meta said in a blog post. "We are actively following the situation and will continue to remove content that violates our policies."

Brazil's leftist president-elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1 after beating Bolsonaro in a second-round election in October by a narrow margin, ending decades of right-wing rule by Brazil.

Bolsonaro refuses to concede defeat and some supporters claim the election was rigged, with people using social media and messaging platforms from Twitter, Telegram and TikTok to YouTube and Facebook, to organize the protests and attacks.

A YouTube spokesperson told Reuters the video-sharing company was "closely tracking" the situation in Brazil, where social media platforms have been ordered to block users spreading anti-democratic propaganda.

"Our Trust and Safety team removes content that violates our Community Guidelines, including live streams and videos that incite violence," the spokesperson said.

"In addition, our system prominently displays authoritative content on our homepage, at the top of search results, and in recommendations. We will remain vigilant as the situation evolves," a YouTube spokesperson said.

Proactive Supervision

Representatives for Telegram also said the private messaging app is working closely with the Brazilian government and fact-checking groups to prevent the spread of content that incites violence.

"Telegram is a platform that supports the right to free speech and peaceful protest. However, calls for violence are explicitly prohibited on our platform," a Telegram spokesperson said.

"Our moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of the public parts of our platform, in addition to receiving user reports, to remove such content," Telegram added.

While TikTok and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Sunday's occupation of government buildings has been planned for at least two weeks by Bolsonaro supporters in groups on social media messaging platforms such as Telegram and Twitter. But there was no move by the security forces to prevent what one group called a "popular usurpation of power".

Messages seen by Reuters throughout last week indicated members of such groups were setting up meeting points in several cities across the country, from where chartered buses would depart for Brasilia, with the intention of occupying public buildings.

Social media companies were also criticized for not doing enough when supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol two years ago.