Old Video Shows Brazil's Bolsonaro Supporters Protesting Coup Probe, Not X Platform Ban

Misbar investigated the viral footage and found the claim to be misleading.

After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the video making the rounds to be outdated and unrelated to the ongoing protests in Brazil.

Old Footage Shows Bolsonaro Supporters Protesting Coup Probe

Contrary to social media users' viral claim, the video is neither recent nor related to the ongoing protests against the Brazilian government's decision to ban the X platform. The footage dates back to February 25, 2024, and shows a large demonstration by Bolsonaro supporters rallying in defense of investigations into Brazil's former president.

Bolsonaro Supporters Protest Coup Investigation

On February 25, 2024, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gathered thousands of supporters on São Paulo's iconic Paulista Avenue to showcase his political strength as he faced investigations that many feared could lead to his imprisonment. The far-right former president, who organized the rally following a police raid earlier in the month related to an alleged coup attempt, spoke in his defense and reflected on his term from 2019 to 2022.

At the time, Bolsonaro’s passport had been confiscated, and he faced accusations of editing a draft decree to overturn election results, pressuring military chiefs to support a coup attempt, and plotting to imprison a Supreme Court justice following his loss to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

Supporters of Bolsonaro had stormed and vandalized Brazil's presidential palace, Supreme Court, and Congress on January 8, 2023, calling for a military coup just a week after Lula assumed office. At the rally, Bolsonaro denied the accusations, claiming he was being persecuted and that the draft decree was constitutional.

Bolsonaro Supporters Protest X Platform Ban

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro led thousands of protesters in central São Paulo in a demonstration against the country’s ban on the social media platform X. The protest coincided with Brazil’s Independence Day on September 9.

Bolsonaro addressed the crowd from a temporary stage set up on São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue. During his speech, he focused his criticism on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, one of the key figures behind the ban on X.

“I hope that the Federal Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who does more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself,” Bolsonaro told the audience.

Brazil’s X Ban Sparks Outrage

Justice De Moraes had called on X to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, as required by Brazilian law. 

When X refused to comply in August, De Moraes issued an order suspending the platform’s operations in the country. This marked the peak of an ongoing dispute between De Moraes and X’s owner, Elon Musk, who had previously closed the company’s offices in Brazil to avoid complying with court orders to suspend accounts spreading misinformation.

On September 2, Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the ban, with all five justices in favor. Justice Flávio Dino, explaining the ruling, stated, “A party that intentionally fails to comply with court decisions appears to consider itself above the rule of law.”

The decision sparked significant backlash, especially among Brazil’s far-right factions, who viewed the ban as a violation of their free speech rights.

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