A warning from Brazil; Russia loses billions in internet shutdowns
2023 kicked off disinformation-fueled rage in Brazil, which has already been dubbed Brazil’s “January 6 moment” and a “copy and paste” of Trump’s playbook. Rioters who ransacked the Oscar Niermayer-designed National Congress building and other buildings in Brasília were, in large part, mobilized by disinformation alleging that a “fraudulent” electronic voting system cost Jair Bolsonaro victory in the October 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro left the country for Florida, denying any involvement in the rioting. But can he effectively distance himself from his own supporters and the disinformation he played a major role in spreading before the election? Brazil’s Aos Fatos, a fact-checking site, highlighted dozens of posts on social media calling for violence and urging protesters to storm government buildings (here’s a useful round up of their findings in English from Rappler). Facebook and Youtube failed to prevent election disinformation being spread on their platforms in Brazil, according to a Global Witness investigation. The violence may have been quelled, but the Guardian argues that “it’s not over yet.”
2023 will be a big election year: Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Thailand and possibly Pakistan and Myanmar — this is just the start of a long list of countries going to the polls this year. In all of these elections, local rivalries and politics will be played out on global social media platforms which — as Brazil proved — continue to be unable to abide by their own guidelines against violent content and voter fraud allegations. Instead, social media platforms are proving to be a boon for populists, authoritarians and their violent followers. Not even Canada is immune.
So is tech better for dictators than it is for democracy? Our team spent much of 2022 trying to answer this question in a podcast series called Tech, Tyrants and Us. Reported from across the world, it is Coda’s first collaboration with Audible and it’s now out! Check it out and tell us what you think.
And the winner is… Russia. As the Kremlin intensified its bombing of Ukraine through the holiday season, it also made sure to violently crush any internal criticism. The Kremlin’s approach to dissent is typified by its willingness to shut down the internet at severe cost to the country. This fascinating study of every major internet shutdown by a national government calculates their economic impact annually.
Russia, according to the report, lost $21.5 billion (!) dollars for internet shutdowns in 2022 alone that have lasted 7,407 hours and affected 113 million people.