Lula’s ministers and allies demand accountability from social networks after student’s death – 12/24/2023 – Market

Ministers from the Lula (PT) government defended this Sunday (24) the holding of social networks responsible for the spread of fake news.

The opinion of Executive representatives comes after the death of Jéssica Canedo, 22, on Friday (22). The student from Minas Gerais committed suicide after her name was involved in false conversations with comedian Whindersson Nunes. According to the content, the two would have a relationship.

“Tragedies like this involve mental health issues, without a doubt, but also, and perhaps to a greater extent, issues of a political nature”, stated, on a social network, Minister Sílvio Almeida, holder of the Human Rights and Citizenship portfolio.

“The irresponsibility of the companies that govern social networks in the face of content that other irresponsible and even criminals (some involved in institutional politics) propagate on it has destroyed families and made a minimally healthy social life impossible.”

Almeida also stated that the regulation of social networks becomes “a civilizing imperative” and that not implementing it would be a “bet on chaos, death and the monetization of suffering”.

Gossip profiles shared fake screenshots of an exchange of messages between Jéssica and Whindersson on Instagram, from the company Meta. One of them referred to an alleged request for a personal meeting.

The two denied the authenticity of the content and stated that they did not even know each other. Despite this, the content continued to circulate on social media.

The Minister of Women, Cida Gonçalves, also spoke out on social media about the episode. She condemned “social media profiles that profit from misogyny and spreading lies” and demanded that the platforms be held accountable.

“It is unacceptable that the lying content against Jéssica, which led to a defamation campaign against the young woman, was not taken down by either the owner of the page or platform X for almost a week, even after appeals from Jéssica herself and his mother”, said Cida.

In a statement, the production company that manages Whindersson Nunes’ career disclosed the artist’s position on “the catastrophic dimension of a story invented based on fake news”.

“Whindersson Nunes was surprised by the sad news of the death of young Jéssica. Perplexed by the triggering of this new public massacre caused by the negative use of social networks, the artist laments: ‘I am extremely sad. I went back to the day I lost my son. That no one has to go through the pain of burying a child,'” the statement said.

“Nonstop Produções SA and Whindersson Nunes deeply regret what happened and offer solidarity to young Jessica’s family, as well as vehemently repudiate the virtual lynching and the harmful use of social media.”

Rapporteur of a bill that provides for the criminalization of the large-scale dissemination of false news, Orlando Silva (PC do B-SP) stated that the young woman’s case is an episode resulting from the “irresponsible and disgusting culture of ‘sealing'”. The text is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies.

“We need to face this state of affairs, which pays profiles and platforms for lies that cause harm. Responsibilities need to be determined and the authors identified and punished. It’s not a left or right debate, it’s about civilization!”, he said Silva, on a social network.

After having approved the urgent process, the Fake News bill lost steam and is paralyzed in an impasse between the artistic sector and broadcasting companies, which took the topic off the Chamber of Deputies’ voting radar.

The division and controversy surrounding the project led parliamentarians to split it in the hope of facilitating approval, but the strategy did not succeed and there is still no vote scheduled.