Social media platforms revealed on Monday that they would remove content supporting riots in Brazil that saw demonstrators storm multiple federal buildings.
Thousands of supporters who backed former President Jair Bolsonaro in recent elections entered facilities hosting the South American nation’s legislative and executive branches. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who assumed office last week, has vowed to punish individuals who destroyed federal property. Technology companies are now taking down material that supports the riots, according to a report from Reuters.
“In advance of the election, we designated Brazil as a temporary high-risk location and have been removing content calling for people to take up arms or forcibly invade Congress, the Presidential palace, and other federal buildings,” a spokesman for Meta, which runs Facebook, told the outlet. “We are also designating this as a violating event, which means we will remove content that supports or praises these actions. We are actively following the situation and will continue removing content that violates our policies.”
YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, likewise told the outlet that the company is “closely tracking” the unrest and “removing content” that violates community guidelines. “Our systems are prominently surfacing authoritative content on our homepage, at the top of search results, and in recommendations,” a spokesperson said. “We will remain vigilant as the situation continues to unfold.”
via joemiller
