May 16, 2022

10:05

The Telegram app has changed yet another rule after a group supporting President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) posted illegal content. The B38 community had more than 67,000 members. After it was barred, the message that appears on the group is that it is temporarily unavailable “to give administrators time to remove messages from users who posted illegal content,” without specifying what content would go against the laws. Despite not detailing the reasons for the blocking, the platform is a favorite of the far-right to spread disinformation and hate speech.

Extremists tone down

In reaction, right-wing and Bolsonaro-supporting groups from Telegram have tried to disguise and lower the tone of their participants’ violent speeches against the left, amid the clash of Justice against virtual communities and the messaging application in Brazil. Cases of aggression such as the one that happened to the caravan of former president Lula (PT), in Campinas (SP), in early May, are even celebrated and endorsed in the groups, but direct threats and promises of aggression have been discouraged.

Reinforcement in moderation

The reinforcement of Telegram’s moderation aims precisely to avoid actions by the Justice Department on the eve of the elections. In March, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), granted a request from the Federal Police to suspend the application in Brazil. In the decision, the Court determined a series of changes, among them, the suspension of two other Bolsonarista channels. Remember that Moraes will also be in charge of coordinating the 2022 election, and he has already said that he will be ruthless against digital militias.

Defense denies support for the Yanomami TI

The Human Rights Commission of the Federal Senate, which is investigating reports of violence committed by miners against indigenous people in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, said that it cannot visit the communities in the reserve due to a lack of logistical support from the federal government. In a letter sent to Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE), the Ministry of Defense denied the request alleging “the restriction of available air means in the Amazon Region”, in a document signed by the Army Commander’s Chief of Staff, General Francisco Humberto Júnior.

Dismantling in the Amazon

The Yanomami Land is the largest indigenous reserve in the country and is located in the middle of the most preserved part of the Amazon forest, in a region that is difficult to access, between the states of Roraima and Amazonas. The committee was in Boa Vista for meetings with the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and also heard members of the Brazilian Environmental Institute (Ibama) and the National Indian Foundation (Funai). President of the commission, Humberto Costa says he has found a situation of “complete dismantling” of these institutions.