Facebook’s parent company Meta has banned all content that supports the pro-Jair Bolosonaro protests in Brazil.
Meta said it is removing all content that promotes or backs the protesters on all of its major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
As Slay News reported on Sunday, former President Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed the Congress building, the presidential palace (Palacio do Planalto), and the Supreme Court building in the capital, Brasilia.
The protests erupted in response to the recent presidential elections that saw corrupt socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeat the hugely popular incumbent Bolsonaro.
Many believe that the election was stolen by Lula, who was previously convicted and jailed for fraud.
People have been flooding the streets of Brazil in protest since the October election.
The protests reached boiling point after Lula was sworn into office on January 1.
In a statement, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said: “We’re also designating this as a violating event, which means we will remove content that supports or praises these actions.
“We’re actively monitoring the situation and will continue removing content that violates our policies.”
Like the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US capitol, the media has blamed tech platforms for allowing the spread of alleged “misinformation” on social media for fueling the recent riots in Brazil.
Several leaders in Latin America, the US, the EU, and even Bolsonaro himself condemned the protests in Brasilia.
Lula described the protests as barbaric and ordered the use of federal forces to “restore order.”
Following the riots, Lula’s Workers’ Party called on supporters to attend a pro-democracy rally in Sao Paulo to speak out against the protests.
The party described the riots as “terrorist action.”
The Socials and Liberty Party also encouraged supporters to attend the rally.
