André Mendonça sets social media rules for posts regarding Flávio Bolsonaro

André Mendonça, a minister at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), has issued an official notice to digital platforms regarding new parameters for removing posts related to presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. The directive concerns content that falsely claims Bolsonaro or his family intend to remove the title of patron saint from Nossa Senhora Aparecida.

The TSE plenary established that only content attributing authorship or support for such measures to Flávio Bolsonaro constitutes ‘fake news’. The order specifies that preventive actions must exclusively target publications that reproduce the specific false factual core.

To protect freedom of expression, the notice clarifies that religious or political manifestations, criticisms of the candidate or his family, and posts that merely reference the topic should not be removed. Mendonça emphasized that in cases of ‘reasonable doubt’ regarding whether a specific post violates the order, the content must be preserved while the matter is submitted to the court for clarification.