‘Choquei’ pauses publications amid fake news controversy

Social media

On X, formerly Twitter, the page posted a clarification note at the top and then adopted silence

The Choquei profile stopped its posts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), after being the center of controversy involving the death of a 22-year-old girl who had allegedly been a victim of fake news.

Young Jéssica Canedo died on Friday (22), after gossip profiles on social media spread false information that she had had a relationship with comedian Whindersson Nunes – which the artist himself denied.

Choquei, who has 21 million followers on Instagram and almost 7 million followers on X, reposted the news about the fake relationship.

The young woman even reported that she had been the target of attacks on the internet due to the alleged affair and, days later, she committed suicide.

With the repercussion of the case, the channel deleted the post referring to the case and, since then, has not made any new publications.

On X, the last post made occurred at 2:17 pm on the 23rd. It was a clarification note signed by lawyer Adélia de Jesus Soares. Before that, the profile had made a publication at 5:46 pm the previous day.

The silence contradicts the active stance of the page on social media. To give you an idea, on Thursday (21), Choquei made 119 posts in 24 hours – an average of almost five per hour.

On Instagram, there were 69 posts on December 21st.

The last post of the profile on this network was also on the 22nd.

On Instagram, Choquei published the note from legal advice through stories — which are posts that disappear after 24 hours.

Instagram page administrators also restricted the ability of users to comment on their posts.

On X, publications now have a warning warning about the recent episode of fake news.

Political clash

The Choquei controversy generated discussions between politicians linked to the government and the opposition.

On the government side, ministers of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) once again defended the regulation of social media and resumed the debate on the Fake News Bill (PL).

Among the opposition, politicians advocate calling the Public Ministry and preach a boycott of the page.

What does Choquei say?

In a note published on the page, Choquei’s defense, signed by lawyer Adélia de Jesus Soares, stated that they “deeply regret what happened” and that there was “no irregularity” in the information published and that the posts were made with “data available on time”.

“The Choquei profile, through its legal advice, clarifies to its followers and friends that there was no irregularity in the dissemination of the information provided by this profile. It should be clarified that there is no responsibility to be attributed for the acts carried out, given the action in good faith and regular compliance with the proposed activities”, he declared.

The note also says that “the commitment of this profile has always been and will be with legality, responsibility and ethics in the dissemination of information within the limits established in the Federal Constitution”.

*With information from CNN Brasil

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