Brazil has not just banned X (formerly Twitter) from the entire country, but citizens will now be fined $9000 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 a legal representative who could be arrested for refusing to censor users, the courts moved toward this national ban.
The man behind the effort is Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has aggressively used censorship to combat anything that he or the government deems “fake news” or disinformation. With socialist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, they are the dream team of the anti-free speech movement.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to the ban with a posting declaring “Obrigado Brasil!” or “Thanks, Brazil!” Ironically, he did so on X.
Ellison previously praised the virulently anti-free speech group Antifa and promised that it would “strike fear in the heart” of Donald Trump. This was after Antifa had been involved in numerous acts of violence and its website was banned in Germany. It is at its base a movement at war with free speech, defining the right itself as a tool of oppression. That purpose is evident in what is called the “bible” of the Antifa movement: Rutgers Professor Mark Bray’s Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.
Bray emphasizes the struggle of the movement against free speech: “At the heart of the anti-fascist outlook is a rejection of the classical liberal phrase that says, ‘I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’” Bray admits that “most Americans in Antifa have been anarchists or antiauthoritarian communists… From that standpoint, ‘free speech’ as such is merely a bourgeois fantasy unworthy of consideration.”
The question is whether Brazil will become a nightmare for free speech around the world as other nations seek to force citizens to read and hear news from approved, state-monitored sites.
REJOICE, marxist-leninists!!!!!!
JOY!!!!!!!!
Your dear leader married on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre because “he wanted a date he’ll always remember”. https://x.com/TudorDixon/status/1821264094751506899
Most of the Democrat Party doesn’t care what happens in Brazil because they support such totalitarian actions here. The Democrat Party consists mostly of Marxist Revolutionary Dreamers or what we see below.
“Former aide to NY Democrat Gov. Hochul charged with acting as agent of Chinese government
Her husband, Chris Hu, was also arrested at the couple’s $3.5 million home located on Long Island.”
Meh, they don’t need them now, Xi Jinping has Command Sergeant Field Marshal Walz in his pocket.
“KNOW THE ENEMY”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
– Sun Tzu, The Art of War
_____________________________
Brazil has egregiously and with malice denied its citizens a consequential segment of their natural and God-given rights, freedoms, privileges, and immunities.
Brazil is a direct and mortal enemy of Humanity.
Brazil has committed an Act of War against the United States of America.
Brazil is a direct and mortal enemy of the American Thesis of Freedom and Self-Reliance, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Actual Americans, and America.
KJP
“We are working around the clock to get this hostage deal done.”
The spastics are in charge. Hostage deal??? We dont fvcking DEAL with hostage takers.
The Israeli’s don’t deal with hostage takers.
You know what dealing with hostage takers does???
It promotes HOSTAGE TAKING.
Reprise:
Letter to Benjamin Netanyahu
Make a deal with the devil. Do whatever he wants. Promise him everything. Get all the hostages back. Then kill the devil and all of his minions. That’s how you deal with the devil. It sounds impossible because it is impossible to deal with the devil without dealing like the devil.
Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, And Barack Obama Back Brazil-Style Censorship
https://www.public.news/p/kamala-harris-tim-walz-and-barack
Democrats have been pushing to “regulate social media platforms” — censor speech — for years. Days before Biden announced the “Disinformation Governance Board,” Obama said our democracy depended on censorship and proposed amending the Constitution to weaken the First Amendment.
https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1830752461495378242
Independent journalists like Bari Weiss, Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger are doing the authentic work of journalism.
Lest we forget, the despot and tyrant, Abraham Lincoln, unconstitutionally denied unprohibited and fully constitutional secession, commenced an unconstitutional war against a sovereign foreign nation, imposed martial law, suspended habeas corpus, denied the freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc., imprisoned political opponents, confiscated private property, failed to enforce existing immigration law, etc.
Just like Musk, trump doesn’t give a rats ass about anyone else’s property.
A federal judge has ruled former President Donald Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.”
Boo hoo
May anyone use “Hold On, I’m Coming” for an event as entertainment?
There is a whole lot of abusers out there.
Obama did the same, both stopped when requested.
The song Trump played when he was with Stormy.
it has been Biden-Harris who have incited violence and begged Americans to incite harm to Americans which is in keeping with Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi vis a vis Trump supporters, Senators Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren vis a vis SCOTUS Justices, and more recently Ivy League universities inciting violence against Jews.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Harris in an interview: “How is that not a violation of free speech? The president has the same rights that you have, that I have. How would that not be a slippery slope to ban half the people on Twitter?”
Harris doubled down: “I’ve heard that argument, but here’s the thing, Jake. A corporation—which is what Twitter is—has obligations and in this case, they have terms of use policy. Their terms of use dictate who receives the privilege of speaking on that platform and who does not. And Donald Trump has clearly violated the terms of use, and there should be a consequence for that,” she said [emphasis mine]. “Not to mention the fact that he has used his platform, being the president of the United States, in a way that has been about inciting fear and potentially inciting harm against a witness to what might be a crime against our country and our democracy.”
https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg?s=09
Oh please, stop with the BS. If trump accuses anybody of any illegal activity, you can bet trump has already done it and whomever he is accusing is inocent.
Kamala Harris is a perfect example of how someone with marginal cognitive skills, poor listening skills and penchant for pressured speech can become a
elected politiciansdictator when the public fails to pay attention.Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, Fidel Castro, all came to power despite their public appearances screamed “wannabe dictator”.
One more time: “It is Trump or the Police State.”
Edward, can you folks deliver your pleasant peninsula for DJT (and thus, for a return to sanity) in November like you did 8 years ago? That would be awesome 😎
Oldman – so many Republicans have left, I am not optimistic.
Edwardmahl,
Had a terrifying thought, if Trump wins, to what lengths will the deep state go to expand their powers to ensure he either does not succeed in anything, even if it is good for the country, or what comes after Trump?
The dystopian movie “Brazil” had that name simply because the movie maker loved the song by that name and used in his movie. Who ever guessed that the country would try to emulate the movie that bears its name.
OT; Rasmussen shows Harris leading Trump in the polls. Uh oh. Even conservative polls show Harris ahead.
Good. Good. Good. Even georgie now admits that polls can be “conservative” or “liberal,” and that anyone who relies on them in order to decide whom to vote for has bee duped. Georgie cites polls all the time. Good for you georgie.
Admits? Nah, just pointing out that conservatives favorite polling organization is showing Harris is ahead. They are just showing what the status of current preference is. Not who to vote for.
This from the spastic who poo poo-ed the rasmussen poll a half dozen times.
By the way they are still not a real pollster, they could show Harris up by 6 points tomorrow and 9 points the day after that, all of their results belong not just in the garbage, but directly to the incinerator,” Carlson posted.
The “poll you are referring to was 380 people.
Literally laughing my ass off at your stupidity.
HAHAHAAHA!!!
I see how why you have such a bad record with reading comprehension. Perhaps you should look up why Kruger-Dunning syndrome applies to you.
380 people polled say you are a spastic idiot.
Look that up.
Only a spastic idiot thinks 380 people are representative of 150 million.
Actually Rasmussen has Trump 48% Harris 46% as of the latest poll
2024 is not “fixed” even though LBJ has “those ——- voting Democratic for the next 200 years” by way of his massive payoffs in his “Great Society” American taxpayer rip-off redistribution of wealth and social engineering bill.
Greetings losers and suckers,
How is everyone’s DJT stock investment doing.
You should probably buy more today. It is another 5% off. Get it cheap while you can.
Don’t be concerned that Nunes and all the other insiders are dumping their holdings. This thing is sure to go to the moon.
You are guaranteed to make a fortune!!!!
If Trump loses, you will be correct, we’ll all be known as losers and suckers.
obamma’s marxist mulattoes winning is a very very bad thing for well, everyone except the CCP and some randos at perkins coie, etc temporarily.
Says the spastic who is still made at trump because of his failed “grain” trade.
How do those boogers taste?
A show of hands from anyone who has DJT stock or gives a shit what happens to it?
Mashco Piro Indians complain
The Mashco Piro territory is on the boarder of Peru & Brazil.
Illegal logging, gold mining & drug trafficking are their issue.
Now we need ‘Radio Free Brazil’ and any other nations which follow suit. A cyber curtain is falling across the world blocking the sunlight of freedom from shining through.
Considering a VPN is essentially untraceable the $9000 fine threat is essentially meaningless.
Not to Brazilian ISP’s. They can still show VPNs and they can be fined for having them. It’s not just individuals.
This Brazilian Freisler forgot one thing: everybody else is a third party, not even served with summons, let alone “order”. How is this criminal not in jail yet?
No, they cant.
VPNs are not untraceable.
Dear Mr. Turley, in response to Upstate Farmer, Rep. Jamie Raskin already has a plan in the works to make sure that if Mr. Trump wins, he will make sure the election is not certified by V.P. Harris. He is pulling very string possible to ensure this. However, isn’t this the same thing Democrats accused Mr. Trump of on Jan.6, 2020? How funny it is once the shoe is on the other foot.
Jamie Raskin is another quasi-elected democrat via gerrymandering. The entire treasonous democrat crime syndicate needs to be disbanded and its leadership (elected/unelected/once-elected) needs to be tried for corruption and theft of the public treasury.
See below as Dennis the demented Draft Dodger proves he is ignorant on a wide range of subjects. He isnt aware that the betting line favors Trump, with Trump gaining 2% in the last week while Harris dropped 3%.
Jonathan: The debate between Harris and DJT is just a week away. And Harris is surging in the polls. The latest USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows that nationwide Harris leads–48% to 43%.
And how is DJT handling the dramatic shift in the polls? He is living in the past. In an interview with right-wing podcaster Mark Levin on Sunday DJT claimed he had “every right” to interfere in the 2020 election. He went on to say: “It’s so crazy that my poll numbers go up. Whoever heard you get indicted…and your poll numbers go up”. Apparently, DJT’s campaign advisors are afraid to show him the latest polls!
So what might we expect from the debate next week? And that assumes DJT will show up. I agree with the betting line in Vegas. It will be TKO by Harris in the second round!
Sure. Keep telling yourself that. You people will believe anything you want.
Dennis McIncrier, who tried to minimize polls 8 weeks ago, has mentioned them 36 times in the last 6 weeks.
And he engages once again in TOTAL IGNORANCE and LIES.
New flash for Dennis McInliar:
There is no VEGAS betting line on the Presidential election, because betting on elections is ILLEGAL in the United States.
The same ‘Dennis’ who said
*And that assumes DJT will show up*
about the debate with Biden.
Oh yes. And the same Dennis who claimed Biden won that debate.
Cackling Cankles Crumbles post-debate, stay tuned to msnbc is you want to stay off your roof.
already smoking dope?
Lula should move to the US when his term is over and run for office as a Democrat, He would fit in perfectly.
I seem to remember news stories about Keith “Antifa” Ellison being credibly accused of sexual assault in hotel rooms by TWO women and yet being a good leftists the media ignored it.
This is the AG from the same state that has Tim “Stalin” Walz as it’s governor.
The World’s population is in a tizzy, controversies abound, small wars rage with fear they may become regional or global, law and order either abandoned or used politically to depose.
I asked myself what has happened, then I came to a simple conclusion, the Earth Rotation has changed and is moving backwards, or said, the core is moving slower than the Earth spin! At least that’s the hypothecs of some Scientists. Will the Twenty Second Century usher in a new Dark Age where the decline we now see is similar, as in a decline in learning and culture and a move into a modern-day Feudalism where the state is your Over Lord?
May God help us!
George W,
“Will the Twenty Second Century usher in a new Dark Age where the decline we now see is similar, as in a decline in learning and culture and a move into a modern-day Feudalism where the state is your Over Lord?”
Yes.
And Democrats are leading the way!
Upstate
To the cliff overlooking the Abyss of Tyranny, where the Dragon spews fire and brimstone, luring the feeble minded to their Utopian demise!
I was banned from Twitter awhile back (for reasons I never was able to find out), but I honestly wonder: How does anyone get any news from “X,” let alone it being his or her main source of news? Since entries can only be 280 characters in length, does that mean the folks in Brazil only got tiny snippets of info about any given subject, basically not much more than a headline? Are people now allowed to put more info on X than used to be the case?
Morales seems to think it possible.
Since entries can only be 280 characters in length
They can be up to 25,000 characters if the user has an upgraded subscription. I’ve seen many long essays on X.