Is Brazil's ban of social media platform X legal or political?

Site failed to comply with court order to block accounts linked to disinformation.

Social media giant X has been banned in Brazil.

It is the latest development in a months-long dispute between a Supreme Court judge and tech billionaire Elon Musk over censorship and disinformation.

Amazon deforestation has slowed down, report reveals |

Brazil and Colombia experienced a 'remarkable' decrease in forest loss in 2022 and 2023, a new report finds. The two countries are home to the Amazon rainforest, one of the world's greatest weapons against climate change.

How much mandate should governments have after elections?

 The attack on Brazil’s Congress by supporters of the former president has raised questions about democracy.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has to decide how to handle a threat to democracy after thousands of his predecessor’s supporters stormed the seat of power.

Attacks on democratic institutions have taken place in other countries, too.

1,500 detained in Brazil after right-wing protesters storm Congress

Security forces in Brazil have detained at least 1,500 people after supporters of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in the Brasília. Thousands of demonstrators ransacked the Congress building, presidential palace and Supreme Court. Bolsonaro lost the presidential election to left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October 2022. Many of his supporters have refused to accept the result and some have been camping outside army buildings around the country calling for a military intervention to overthrow the government.

Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazilian Congress

 

Brazilian police arrest protesters inside government buildings

From CNN's Marcia Reverdosa and Rodrigo Pedroso

Brazil's Federal District Military Police (PMDF) have begun dispersing pro-Bolsonaro protesters inside Brasília's government buildings, according to a statement from the PMDF.

Those identified as taking part in "acts of vandalism" are being taken to the police station, the PMDF said.

Approximately 30 protesters have been arrested, according to CNN Brasil, which also aired videos showing buses of arrested protesters.

• Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have broken in to the country's congressional building, Supreme Court and presidential palace, according to Brazilian media.
• Footage showed massive crowds in the capital of Brasília, with some rioters clashing with police. A protester was seen sitting at the desk of the president of Congress.

Brazil election: Social media content crafted for disruption

 

Brazil’s presidential candidates are fighting pitched digital battles ahead of the election. Plus, Nicaragua’s hostile media space.

In Brazil’s upcoming election, President Jair Bolsonaro is not going down without a fight. He has raised the prospect of electoral fraud, used old tricks from his media playbook to spread disinformation, and while the public is more attuned to these dangers now than it was in 2018, there is still a lot at stake.

Voting underway in Brazil election

Brazilians are voting in an election which could see the country switch from a far-right to a left-wing leader. Voting is compulsory for the more than 156 million people eligible. Incumbent Jair Bolsonaro is seeking a second term but faces a challenge from ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

How the “lost cities” of the Amazon were finally found

The Amazon has always been one of the most mysterious places on earth. When European colonizers arrived in the 16th century, they were captivated by rumors of a golden city, hidden somewhere in the rainforest. Their search for “El Dorado” lasted more than a century, but only resulted in disaster, death, and further conquest of the indigenous people there.

Defending the Amazon: retracing Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira's fatal journey to seek the truth

 

Oliver Laughland Danilo do Carmo, Roberto Kaz Alex Healey Marina Costa Katie Lamborn

Organized crime in the remote Javari valley region of the Amazon is rampant. Drug trafficking, illegal fishing, mining and logging now go by almost unchecked, making it a frontline in the war on nature. It is this violence that cost journalist Dom Phillips and Indigeneous activist Bruno Pereira their lives. The Guardian's Oliver Laughland travels to the small riverside town of Atalaia do Norte, to retrace part of the journey Dom and Bruno took before they were killed.

Human remains found during search for British journalist and Brazilian guide

 

Police in Brazil say a man has confessed to fatally shooting an Indigenous rights expert and a British journalist who went missing earlier this month. The suspect led officers to a remote area where he said the bodies were buried.

The illegal Brazilian gold you may be wearing

 

A special task force in Brazil is conducting raids deep in the Amazon, in a new crackdown against what it calls "blood gold" mining.

Mining in territories that are supposed to be protected by law is destroying the lives of indigenous people and wreaking havoc on the environment.

The UK is the third biggest buyer of Brazilian gold, and public prosecutors have alleged that 30% of Brazil’s exports may be illegally mined.

The BBC was given exclusive access to film a rare special forces operation. The identities of some of the operatives have been protected.

Brazil’s President “should be charged with crimes against humanity” over Covid deaths

 

In Brazil a parliamentary inquiry has said that the country’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, should be charged with crimes against humanity over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil’s Amazonian Battle

 

Amid growing climate anxiety, we investigate the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest under President Jair Bolsonaro.

Since the late 1970s, some one million square kilometres of Amazonian forest have been destroyed, mostly through industrial activities and large-scale agriculture like cattle-ranching, soy farms and irrigation projects.

Sixty percent of the Amazon lies within Brazil, which is where the most rapacious deforestation has taken place.

These photos sparked a Cold War propaganda feud

 

In 1961, Life magazine photographed systemic poverty in Brazil. One Brazilian magazine responded with a similar report — featuring photos of New York City.

Can Brazil Survive Bolsonaro? | The Economist

 

Can a homegrown vaccine end Brazil's COVID crisis?

16 million COVID cases, nearly half a million deaths and no end in sight. Brazil is still struggeling with the coronavirus pandemic. Health experts worry government mismanagement will only make it more difficult to find a way out of this crisis.

 

Will Brazil's homegrown COVID vaccine end Bolsonaro's presidency? | DW News

 

The coronavirus pandemic has hit Brazil harder than most countries. Over 441,000 people there have now died from COVID-19 - the second worst death toll in the world. The country is also struggling to implement an effective vaccination campaign to finally get a grip on the pandemic.

Brazil: Battling Bolsonaro’s COVID misinformation

 How leading media outlets in Brazil have joined forces to take on Bolsonaro and his COVID denial. Plus, Wikipedia – the unlikeliest online experiment – turns 20.

Some of Brazil’s biggest media companies have come together to combat COVID-19 misinformation – a lot of which is coming from President Jair Bolsonaro’s office.

Brazil’s President rejects lockdown despite 370,000 Covid deaths - BBC News

 

Brazil has seen more than 370,000 deaths from Covid, one of the highest rates in the world. However the country’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to order a lockdown, to help control the pandemic.

Brazil hits grim new Covid death record - BBC News

 Brazil has recorded more than 4,000 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours for the first time, as a more contagious variant fuels a surge in cases.