MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Facebook ordered to scrap fake news regarding slain Brazilian activist
Marielle Franco was murdered March 14 and quickly hailed as an inspiring example of a black woman who had broken barriers by getting elected to Rio's white-dominated city council. Brazilian Judge Jorge Jansen Counago Novelle on Wednesday gave the US-based social media giant Facebook 24 hours to remove fake news posted about slain black rights' activist Marielle Franco.
The ruling compels the company to pull “publications of false information with criminal content on the councilwoman Marielle Franco,” it was reported.
Franco was murdered March 14 and quickly hailed as an inspiring example of a black woman who had broken barriers by getting elected to Rio's white-dominated city council. She spoke out against often brutal police raids in the poor favela neighborhoods.
There has been little to no progress in the investigation of her apparent targeted killing, according to police sources.
Unsubstantiated postings online portrayed Franco as having been married to a drug gangster and receiving election campaign money from criminals. These allegations, some made by another Rio judge on Facebook, have since been discredited.
Judge Novelle wrote that his decision targeted “propagation of crimes like slander against the dead, and hatred and racial and gender prejudice against someone who can no longer defend herself.”
Top Comments
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Read all commentsDemonTree the slavish follower aka The Appendage
Mar 31st, 2018 - 07:44 pm +1“Please remember it next time you are inclined to accuse me of lying merely because I disagreed with you about some fact or rule of logic”
I suggest that when you ignore your obligation as to proof, engage in sophistry, and support the contentions of a proven liar. You may well be the author of your own misfortune, as you don’t exactly inspire any confidence that what say is true.
Good on judge Novelle.
Mar 30th, 2018 - 03:40 am 0Just a few days ago, MP commentator Jack Bauer vehemently protested after being challenged on irresponsibly propagating these infamous rumours against Marielle Franco in one of his postings.
Coming next: Jack Bauer complaining about “lack of freedom of expression.”
The headline made me worry, but the decision seems pretty reasonable.
Mar 30th, 2018 - 11:37 am 0Now I'm wondering if Jack read about it on Facebook, but I guess if it was a judge starting the rumours(!) then it was probably in the papers. Anyway, he said it had been discredited in his very next post, so I doubt he'll be complaining about this decision.
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