The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS), Pedro Vaca, made his first official visit to Brazil this week, by invitation of the Federal Government. The agenda included meetings with representatives from the three branches of government, civil society leaders, and academics to discuss the measures currently undertaken by Brazil to ensure freedom of expression and information integrity, while also combating disinformation, the spread of fake news, and hate speech.

The growth of an extremist culture in the country has led to an increase in deaths caused by premeditated attacks through digital platforms, without mediation, without mechanisms to confront this hatred, and without the education of society to deal with it and understand how this process has produced these incidents in the country"

Macaé Evaristo, Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship

By supporting the work of the Commission, the Federal Government reaffirms its commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of the press as pillars of the Democratic Rule of Law, stressing its disposition for dialog and exchange of experiences on this and other correlated issues.

COMMUNICATION — The Rapporteur’s visit began on Sunday (9) with a meeting at the Social Communications Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (SECOM-PR), where he was received by Executive Secretary Tiago César dos Santos, the Secretary of Digital Policies, João Brant, and the head of the Minister’s Office, Samara Castro.

At the time, the OAS representative saw presentations about the strategies and public policies adopted by the government to combat disinformation and promote the defense of citizens' rights in the digital environment. The Special Rapporteur also received information, based on ongoing investigations and inquiries, regarding the coordinated creation and widespread dissemination of false narratives and information, which contributed to the events of January 8, 2023, and the premeditated plan to assassinate prominent figures of the elected government and the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Additionally, the Rapporteur gained insight into the government's emphasis on advancing the regulation of social media and the development and use of Artificial Intelligence, both through legislative proposals under discussion in Congress and through international cooperation with other governments.

HUMAN RIGHTS — On Monday (10), during the meeting with Pedro Vaca, the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Macaé Evaristo, addressed issues such as the protection of children and adolescents and other historically vulnerable groups in Brazil, as well as measures to combat hate speech in digital environments. During the session, the minister described the context of the violence that affect children and adolescents in the country and their relation with hate speech. “Since 2001, there have been 43 attacks on schools in Brazil. Just to highlight, 21 of these attacks happened between February 2022 and October 2023; 48.8% of them took place in this period and we have an analysis about it,” she pointed out.

“The growth of an extremist culture in the country has led to an increase in deaths caused by premeditated attacks through digital platforms, without mediation, without mechanisms to confront this hatred, and without the education of society to deal with it and understand how this process has produced these incidents in the country,” added the minister.

Macaé Evaristo handed Pedro Vaca the final document produced by the working group created inside the Ministry. The “Report on recommendations to address hate speech and extremism in Brazil” (Relatório de recomendações para o enfrentamento ao discurso de ódio e ao extremismo no Brasil) includes the main expressions of hate and extremism that must be addressed, such as school violence, anti-democratic acts, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and religious intolerance. The working group was composed of State and civil society representatives.

DEMOCRACY — The Rapporteur also met with representatives from the Judiciary. On Monday (10), he met with the President of the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal / (STF), Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, and Minister Alexandre de Moraes. Barroso provided context for the series of events that took place in the country, which threatened the institutions and demanded a firm response from the STF. Among these events were statements by members of Congress calling for aggression against STF ministers, as well as a range of offenses and situations that jeopardized democracy, such as the politicization of the Armed Forces, attacks on institutions, and encouragement of camps calling for a coup d'état. These events culminated in the invasion of the buildings of the three branches of government on January 8, 2023.

CONTEXT — Minister Alexandre de Moraes outlined the context of the ongoing investigations and provided details about the circumstances that led to the suspension of the social media platform X, after it failed to comply with repeated STF rulings and removed its representatives in Brazil. Moraes also explained that approximately 1,900 individuals have been charged following the January 8 attacks, and that the social media profiles of 28 of them are currently blocked by STF order. Of these, eight are linked to the inquiry investigating threats to the STF, ten are part of the investigation into anti-democratic acts, and ten are involved in the investigation of the attempted coup d'état.

Minister Jorge Messias (AGU) during the hearing with members of the OAS commission. Image: Emanuelle Sena/ ASCOM-AGU

Fake news dissemination has been causing us many problems. Beyond hate speech, there are situations in which the harm to the population is real”

Jorge Messias, Minister of the Attorney General's Office (AGU)

FAKE NEWS — The defense of freedom of expression, human rights, and Brazilian democracy were the main topics discussed during a meeting between Pedro Vaca and the Minister of the Attorney General's Office (Advocacia-Geral da União /AGU), Jorge Messias, who presented a detailed account on the institution’s initiatives in this regard. The Minister handed the Special Rapporteur a copy of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) special report that mentions Brazil as one of the countries most vulnerable to the dissemination of fake news. "This has been causing us many problems. Beyond hate speech, there are situations in which the harm to the population is real,” he stated.

VACCINES — Among the examples of harm to the population, the minister mentioned the fake news campaigns that associated COVID-19 vaccines to the risk of contracting the HIV virus; lies spread on social media that hindered access to aid for the victims of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul; and the crime against the economic order represented by recently spread lies about money transfers through PIX.

REGULATION — According to Messias, the discussions about digital platforms regulation promoted by AGU in January through public hearings and consultations is key “because compensation and content removal have not been enough to deal with this sophisticated disinformation system, which has led to concrete acts of violence in Brazil.”

MINISTERIAL ACTS — He reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment to the right to freedom of expression, information integrity, and combating disinformation. Also at the Itamaraty Palace, during an interministerial meeting, representatives from the Ministries of Women, Justice and Public Security, Environment and Climate Change, Finance, and Health addressed the impact of disinformation on the policies led by their respective ministries.

Minister Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs) with Pedro Vaca, from OAS. Image: Carlos Cruz/MRE

ELECTIONS — On Wednesday (12), the President of the Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral /TSE), Minister Cármen Lúcia, met for about an hour with Pedro Vaca and his team. The Minister answered several questions about the Brazilian electoral system, the functioning of the Electoral Justice, and electoral legislation. She also addresses the work of TSE in combating disinformation, the efficiency of the electronic voting machines, and explained the source code of the equipment is made available for testing by interested parties (experts, political parties, among others) one year prior to the elections — whereas it used to be six months.

CONGRESS — Pedro Vaca also met with members of National Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. From them he received the report of the investigations conducted by the Congress on the attacks on the buildings of the three branches of government on January 8, 2023. Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), who acted as the rapporteur at the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (Comissão Parlamentar Mista de Inquérito /CPMI) regarding January 8, stated that the meeting was positive in that it showed Vaca that, through the acts of Congress and its relation with the other branches of government, freedom of expression in Brazil "is ensured with legitimacy". According to Senator Gama, the OAS must have a complete overview from the various political actors.

MORE MEETINGS — On Tuesday (11), another meeting took place at the Federal Police headquarters, where the Special Rapporteur and his team viewed videos of the January 8 events, as well as the inquiries, threats against government officials, and other related issues. Pedro Vaca also held meetings with representatives in Congress. His mission concluded on Friday (14) in São Paulo. After the visit, the IACHR is expected to present a final report with its findings based on the information gathered in the country.

TRADITION — Brazil maintains the tradition of inviting and receiving visits from rapporteurs from international organizations in the area of human rights due to the importance it attributes to dialog and exchange with human rights mechanisms to strengthen policies and initiatives developed in the country. In 2024, Brazil hosted visits from the United Nations special rapporteurs on contemporary forms of racism; violence against children; and the situation of human rights defenders, as well as the Inter-American Human Rights Commission Special Rapporteurs on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights.