Billionaire Elon Musk recently likened Brazil’s Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes to the notorious Harry Potter villain, Lord Voldemort.
Musk made this comparison in a viral tweet on X, showcasing side-by-side images of Judge Moraes, dressed in a black cloak, and Voldemort, brandishing a wand. He captioned the images on X, “The resemblance is uncanny. Alexandre de Voldemort.”
This provocative comparison emerged alongside significant developments regarding X’s operations in Brazil. Over the weekend, X announced the immediate closure of its Brazilian operations, attributing the decision to an ongoing legal dispute with Judge Moraes. The platform will remain accessible to Brazilian users despite the shutdown.
X issued a statement expressing regret over the decision, directly blaming it on Judge Moraes’s actions. The conflict stems from earlier orders by Moraes for X to block accounts spreading disinformation and hate speech, particularly those supporting the former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro had cast doubt on Brazil’s electronic voting system, contributing to pre-election tensions in 2022.
Judge Moraes, who also leads Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal, has been outspoken against disinformation. According to Al Jazeera, he has stated, “Freedom of expression doesn’t mean freedom of aggression. It doesn’t mean the freedom to defend tyranny.”
In a further escalation, X alleged that Moraes had covertly threatened to arrest one of its legal representatives in Brazil unless specific content was removed from the platform. “As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have decided to close our operation in Brazil,” X elaborated in their statement.
Musk, known for his readiness to engage in controversy, intensified his criticism of Moraes in another post on X, denouncing him as “an utter disgrace to justice.” This followed a previous altercation where Moraes initiated an inquiry into Musk and X after Musk declared intentions to reactivate blocked accounts on the platform.
