Brazil’s X ban drives outraged Bolsonaro supporters to rally for ‘free speech’

Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — A few thousand supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have begun flooding Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally. They’re buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform. Saturday’s march is a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of October municipal elections. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge ramped up his clampdown on social media platforms blamed for spreading misinformation after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.