The demonstrations during Brazil’s Independence Day celebration on Saturday, September 7, brought to the streets a peculiar figure that reflects the political radicalization of recent years in Brazil. In addition to the official parade in Brasília, which welcomed Lula and a number of authorities, the protests organized through social media, where former president Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters gathered, featured a special guest in slogans, banners, and flags: the billionaire Elon Musk. Suddenly, Musk became an idol of the Brazilian far right by presenting himself as a defender of free speech.
On August 30, access to X (formerly Twitter) was blocked across Brazil by a court order from Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The order was prompted by Musk’s untimely decision to close the Brazilian office a year and a half ago, in January 2022, just two months after taking over the social network. However, an often-overlooked detail is the timing of these events.
The multinational’s announcement of the layoffs and the closure of the office representing the platform in the country took place on Saturday, August 17, the day after election campaign ads could start airing in Brazil, including digitally. In short, Musk made it clear that X (formerly Twitter) had become an alt-tech in Brazil. This term refers to social networks and internet service providers popular among the far right due to their looser content moderation compared to mainstream platforms.
The term alt-tech, or “alternative technology,” became associated with extremist platforms like Gab, Gettr, Parler, and Bitchute. The X/Twitter block in Brazil triggered a massive migration of users to competing apps, especially Threads and Bluesky. At this point, it’s difficult to pinpoint a definitive destination for these users, and similar migrations have occurred before, such as when the Indian platform Koo gained over 13 million Brazilian users in just a month. But now, many influencers seem intent on finding a less toxic environment.
X/Twitter’s user base in Brazil has never been as large compared to other platforms like Facebook, but the profile of these users is different because Twitter has stood out as a space for social issues, political discussions, and reactions to current events. As a result, users are searching for a platform that offers something similar to X/Twitter. Bluesky gained over a million Brazilian users in less than 48 hours. Although that may seem like a small number in absolute terms, it accounts for more than one-sixth of the platform’s total users before the incident. Perhaps the main drawback is that this clone of the old Twitter, also created by Jack Dorsey, still lacks a large international user base. Threads has this advantage, along with native integration with Instagram, but there is some mistrust in the air due to it being a new tool from Meta.
In practice, Brazilians are testing different options, but the expectation is that they will settle on a platform that allows them to stay connected with their peers and the world while providing visibility for public debate and keeping them up-to-date with social and political agendas.
Meanwhile, Portuguese-language traffic on X/Twitter has dropped to about 20% of its peak. There are still Brazilian users accessing the platform from abroad, where it is naturally still available, or from Brazil via a VPN. The vast majority, however, are users aligned with the national far-right rhetoric. In this sense, X has become similar to Truth Social, the network launched by Donald Trump in the United States.
The main difference between these two ecosystems is that Brazil has a dense communication network provided by private messaging services, especially WhatsApp. Here, numerous political discussion groups with a pro-Bolsonaro bias operate, spreading misinformation, hate speech, and frequent attacks on democratic institutions.
Since January 8, Bolsonaro’s WhatsApp groups have sounded the alarm after Alexandre de Moraes opened a case to investigate the invasion of the buildings housing the three branches of government, sending several Bolsonaro supporters to prison for their involvement in the events. Many groups expelled users suspected of spying, updated their strategies, and even changed their names.
Today, anyone attempting to monitor this environment should know that they may not find obvious channels. Bolsonaro’s groups have adopted fake names like “Carrot Cake,” “Healthy Sports,” and “Friends of Good.” In other words, they have buried themselves deeper within the already opaque private networks.
With the X block in Brazil, this process is intensifying. At first glance, it may seem positive that these far-right members are retreating from the public sphere and returning to the caves of obscurantism. But the truth is they are more widespread than ever, even if now they are beyond our reach.
Musk knows this and chose to close the X office in the midst of the electoral race to allow the network to operate under the radar. It wouldn’t be surprising if, after the elections, he returned to his positions. For now, perhaps electoral officials have a bigger challenge than simply dealing with the whims of a billionaire. The danger to democracy in the 21st century is not limited to one person, but rather to the correct actions of groups with authoritarian tendencies.
Autor
Profesor del Departamento de Estudios Culturales y Medios de la Universidad Federal Fluminense e investigador del Instituto Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología en Democracia Digital (INCT.DD). Doctorado en Historia, Política y Bienes Culturales por la Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
