[REVISION HISTORY]

Brazilian religious disinformation controversy

Updated 7 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-28 01:18 UTC → 2026-09-28 02:28 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The disinformation campaign regarding the religious figure Nossa Senhora Aparecida has expanded into direct accusations against religious institutions. Flávio ~~Bolsonaro~~ Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate for the PL party, has accused the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) ~~of collaborating with~~ and the Workers' Party (PT) of coordinating a campaign to spread false claims that his family intends to strip the figure of her title as Patroness of Brazil. The CNBB issued a formal statement denying any involvement in the dissemination of false information, asserting its political neutrality and stating that ~~it does not belong~~ making such accusations without evidence unfairly harms the entity. Attorney General Jorge Messias has expressed solidarity with the CNBB, defending the importance of the secular state. Investigations into the origin of the rumors traced the claims back to ~~any political party~~ a 2007 legislative proposal by former deputy Victório Galli, which sought to change the title to ‘Patroness of Roman Catholic Brazilians’. This project was archived in 2008 and ~~repudiates~~ had no connection to Flávio Bolsonaro. In response to the ~~use~~ spread of ~~lies~~ the rumor, which generated over 180,000 comments in 20 hours, Flávio Bolsonaro’s legal team filed a criminal complaint against 29 social media profiles. They also requested the ~~electoral process.~~ preventive arrest of George Marques, a coordinator at the Social Communication Secretariat (Secom), alleging he encouraged the spread of the falsehood. Marques has denied intentionality. Additional controversy ~~has emerged involving~~ involves Pastor JB Carvalho, a ~~pastor and~~ leader of the Comunidade das Nações, ~~a church attended by the Bolsonaro family. In his book ‘A Bomba’, Carvalho~~ who criticized Catholic devotion to Mary as a ‘pagan ~~practice’ and argued that the October 12th national holiday lacks constitutional validity due to the separation of church and state.~~ practice’. Legal proceedings continue to ~~fluctuate. While the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) initially saw~~ fluctuate; while Minister André Mendonça ~~order~~ of the TSE ordered the removal of posts labeling the claims ‘notoriously untrue’, Supreme Court Minister Flávio Dino has ~~since~~ overturned several ~~removal orders. Dino ruled that censoring such content violates protections for~~ orders to protect freedom of expression and religious ~~liberty during an election campaign.~~ liberty.

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