Michael Shellenberger: “Censorship is never about the truth; it’s always about power.”

Michael Shellenberger criticizes Brazil for joining China, Iran, and North Korea in banning X, indicating a move towards authoritarianism.

“I love the country. I love the people… it was a country that had a very progressive Constitution. It fought against a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. The truth is that Brazil is now a dictatorship.

I mean, that may sound like hyperbole, but the fact of the matter is, you basically have two people, President Lula and the Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, who are making up laws as they go along. They’re arbitrarily enforcing laws. They’re persecuting their political enemies; they just banned acts. I mean, they now join China, Iran, and North Korea as countries that have fully banned the social media platform.

… it’s worth noting that the tactics that they’ve been using have been endorsed by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz both the censorship of election information that they disapprove of, the de-platforming of their political opponents, and then cross-platform bans, meaning that the Brazilian government, when they want to ban somebody, they demand that they be banned from every social media platform, which is basically career death for politicians and journalists, all of us who make our livings on social media…

… it’s a very extreme and troubling situation, and I think it now turns to the public to rally in support of free speech and the restoration of democracy.”

Shellenberger emphasizes that this selective enforcement and censorship mark a disturbing shift for a country that once celebrated its free speech heritage.