By Ricardo Brito and Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA, 20.10. – Brazil’s electoral authority announced measures to tackle online disinformation amid a bitter presidential campaign between far-right Jair Bolsonaro and leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) said the measures aim to curb “the dissemination and exchange of false or seriously decontextualized information that undermines the electoral process,” the resolution said.
The tightening laid down by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes reflects a more aggressive approach amid the wave of dirty campaigns sweeping Brazil ahead of the second round on October 30.
The TSE will impose fines of 100,000 reais ($19,000) an hour on internet platforms that fail to remove fraudulent content after two hours, according to the resolution, which also bans all paid online political advertising in the 48 hours before the vote .
The TSE has already ordered the removal of some disinformation videos, including those stating that Lula is in cahoots with Satan and that Bolsonaro advocates cannibalism.
The court has also ordered campaigns to remove online ads claiming the left will legalize abortion and the current president dabbling at pedophilia.
The TSE’s actions have raised concerns in both campaigns that legitimate political debates are being censored.
Bolsonaro’s campaign has complained that the TSE told him not to run ads calling Lula a “corrupt” and a “thief” because the bribery convictions that landed him in prison were later approved by the Supreme Court were lifted.
Brazilian broadcasters have also said they have been banned from using the words “ex-con,” “thief,” or “corrupt” when talking about Lula. The broadcasters’ advocacy group, ABERT, protested that these decisions interfere with freedom of expression.
Instead, Bolsonaro’s allies complain that the TSE did not stop opponents from accusing the president of “genocide” over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed 680,000 Brazilians.
And over the weekend, Lula’s allies protested when the court blocked an ad that used clips of Bolsonaro talking about a visit he’d made to a home for teenage Venezuelan migrants he believed to be on prepare for prostitution.
Moraes said the platforms helped keep disinformation within reasonable bounds ahead of the first round of voting on Oct. 2.
“But we have a second round that is deteriorating in this regard and this requires stricter action by the TSE,” he told reporters on Thursday.
(1 dollar = 5.2141 reais)