, Columnist
Elon Musk Picked the Wrong Fight in Brazil
Musk’s head-on attacks on the country’s Supreme Court add a toxic layer of complexity to an already polarized political situation.
He’s not saluting Brazilian justice.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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As he has done time and again, Elon Musk has stirred up yet another storm, this time in Brazil.
Over the weekend, X’s billionaire owner pledged to disobey legal orders in Latin America’s largest country amid a dispute with its Supreme Court, which has been cracking down on social-media accounts spreading misinformation and hate speech. The decisions, Musk said, forced X to block users in Brazil including “sitting members of the Parliament and major journalists” under the threat of massive fines if it failed to comply with the order.