Mendonça Orders Takedowns as Aparecida Claim Spreads Online

Mendonça Orders Takedowns as Aparecida Claim Spreads Online
Justice André Mendonça ordered major social-media platforms to remove posts presenting as fact the claim that Flávio Bolsonaro or his family intended to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as Brazil’s patron saint. The ruling also requires X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to act against substantially similar posts, with daily fines of 50,000 reais for noncompliance. Mendonça described the central allegation as “notoriamente inverídico” — plainly untrue.

The order distinguishes between posts asserting the allegation as fact and journalism, debunking material or critical opinion that does not make that assertion. It followed Bolsonaro’s complaint that the content continued to circulate after an earlier ruling, with his legal team citing more than 21 million views across thousands of posts.

Supporters of Bolsonaro have framed the episode as evidence of a coordinated election-season misinformation campaign. In a reposted message, Allan dos Santos amplified Flávio Bolsonaro’s assertion that GloboNews had retracted a “LIE” about an alleged movement to change Aparecida’s status, adding that “the project DOES NOT EVEN EXIST.” Bolsonaro has denied any intention to alter the title and said he respects every religion and those without religion.

Reporting from the right also highlighted the conduct of George Marques, a strategy and information coordinator at the presidential communications office. According to the report, Marques shared — then deleted — a post urging people to keep circulating the allegation. Marques said he did not remember reposting it, and maintained that any sharing had been inadvertent and did not reflect his views.

The underlying legislative reference, however, was a 2007 bill by former congressman Victório Galli, not a proposal by Flávio Bolsonaro. The bill sought to change the wording of Aparecida’s designation and was rejected and archived in 2008. Commentator Rodrigo Constantino characterized the online dispute as a mix of “faith, elections and political attacks,” while noting Bolsonaro’s denial.

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