MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Prosecutors want Brazilian broadcaster off the air for misinformation

“If the Armed Forces are ready to act, what the STF decides is absolutely irrelevant,” Jovem Pan allegedly said

Brazil's Federal Public Ministry (MPF) has filed a public civil action requesting the cancellation of the three broadcasting licenses granted to the Jovem Pan group due to the alleged station's alignment with the disinformation campaign, Agencia Brasil reported. According to the MPF, some of Jovem Pan's content undermined the democratic regime.

In the 214-page suit, the MPF also asks that the group be ordered to pay R$ 13.4 million (US$ 2.78 million) in compensation for collective moral damages. The Public Ministry also asks the Federal Court to force Jovem Pan to broadcast, at least 15 times a day, for four months, messages with official information about the reliability of the electoral process, using other means.

“Jovem Pan repeatedly disseminated content that discredited, without evidence, the 2022 electoral process, attacked authorities and institutions of the Republic, incited disobedience to laws and judicial decisions, advocated the intervention of the Armed Forces over the constituted civilian powers, and encouraged the population to subvert the political and social order,” the MPF said in a statement.

The radio frequencies of the station, whose cancellation is requested by the MPF, are in operation in São Paulo and Brasília. The group also has more than a hundred affiliates, which relay the signal to hundreds of municipalities in 19 states, reaching millions of listeners.

“With the false and unfounded information it insistently disseminated, Jovem Pan contributed to a huge number of people doubting the suitability of the electoral process or taking direct actions such as those seen after the announcement of the voting results, especially the blocking of roads last November and the vandalism attack in Brasilia on January 8,” says the text of the MPF.

According to the lawsuit, the MPF analyzed content produced and broadcast by Jovem Pan between Jan. 1, 2022, and Jan. 8 this year, especially in the shows Os Pingos nos Is, 3 em 1, Morning Show, and Linha de Frente.

The lawsuit highlights that commentators praised the military dictatorship, defended violent acts, and alleged the lack of authority of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). “If the Armed Forces are ready to act, what the STF decides is absolutely irrelevant,” and “If you [the Armed Forces] are going to defend the homeland, and there is going to be a reaction from the bums, hey, give them a hint! You are trained for that,” the text emphasizes.

The Jovem Pan group said it will manifest itself only in the judicial process. “About the lawsuit filed by the MPF, the defense of the Jovem Pan Group will be manifested exclusively in the case file. The Jovem Pan group reaffirms daily, over 80 years, its commitment to Brazilian society and democracy.”

(Source: Agencia Brasil)