![]() This includes lies, slander, conspiracy theories, denialism and historical revisionism. ![]() On the one hand, a big issue is the disinformation programmed by the extreme right. What are the biggest issues you see regarding freedom of expression in Brazil at the moment? My luck is that the years of living in poverty have made me a survivor, someone capable of reinventing themselves, and continuing the fight. In other words, it has totally altered my destiny. It has drastically affected my mental health. It forced me to abandon my mandate in Congress. Since we can’t contain all misinformation, we must at least hold powerful public officials that are spreading lies and promoting harassment judicially accountable. For me, it is very important to have an organisation like Media Defence by my side in fighting defamation through judicial means. Media Defence is supporting the appeal against the lawsuit that is ordering me to pay damages in this defamation case. ![]() In 2022, I was sued for my comments on social media after an MP agreed with the proposition that a Nazi party should be legalised and said that Germany had made a mistake by criminalising the Nazi party. In fact, any Twitter profile that criticizes Bolsonaro or other powerful far right individuals receives hateful, defamatory remarks, and comments that are based on misinformation. The defamation campaign against me is ongoing. They did this in response to me being the first openly gay social-democratic parliamentarian in a majority right-wing environment. Could you tell us about the defamation against you?įrom the moment I became a member of the Brazilian parliament, far right groups subjected me to a defamation campaign, online violence, and harassment. The limit of freedom of expression is the human dignity of those at whom the expression is directed. In short, freedom of expression is not and cannot be freedom of oppression. Hate speech and lies threaten individuals and collectives. No one should be able to use their freedom of expression to lie, slander, defame and propagate hatred, and expect to get away with it. However, the right to freedom of expression implies a responsibility on the part of those who exercise it. Without intellectual, artistic and/or political freedom of expression, there is no real democracy. What does freedom of expression mean to you?įreedom of expression is, for me, one of the pillars of a truly democratic society. Wyllys was forced into exile after receiving homophobic hate speech and death threats whilst serving as one of Brazil’s first openly gay members of parliament. His research focuses on disinformation and the rise of authoritarian governments. He is also a researcher at Open Society Foundations and an LGBTQ+ activist. Jean Wyllys is a Brazilian journalist who writes for Counter Punch, amongst other prominent newspapers and magazines.
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