While delivering an inaugural lecture to welcome new students at the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo (USP), in the historic hall at Largo do São Francisco, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice and law professor Alexandre de Moraes stated that “algorithms are ideologically directed to indoctrinate people.”
During his speech, Moraes discussed what he considers the root of the problem with social media: the ability of anyone, regardless of formal education, to speak freely and influence others. He once again defended the regulation of social media platforms and criticized Big Tech companies and what he frequently refers to as the “far-right.” According to Moraes, social media has been instrumentalized by “fascist economic groups to erode democracy from within.”
To illustrate his argument, he claimed that “hate speech” on social media stems from economic crises, when people, in Brazil and other countries, start looking for scapegoats, drawing a comparison to the AfD party in Germany.
“At a certain point, following global economic crises and income concentration, a large segment of the population—primarily what we call the middle class in Brazil—began to feel uncomfortable. From there, a discourse emerged: ‘I am in this economic situation because there are too many foreigners here.’ That is the European discourse. It is fascism, the far-right regaining electoral strength. ‘Why is there no more employment? Because women entered the job market.’ Misogyny has returned with force. This rhetoric primarily targets white, heterosexual men over the age of 45. To combat evil, we must understand its roots. This sentiment, this resurgence of what used to be dismissed as the "barbecue uncle" discourse, is now the discourse of 20% of Germany and an even higher percentage in Brazil.”
Moraes continued his analysis by emphasizing that, while Big Tech companies are not responsible for the underlying sentiments of hatred that arise from economic crises, they have “capitalized on these sentiments and transformed them into a mass indoctrination mechanism” on social media.
“These companies already had expertise in the economic field. They simply expanded their focus. There were already studies on how algorithms could be directed for economic purposes, to push products onto people. The major global debate is understanding how algorithms are used on social media. They are not random. If you send a message in favor of democracy, a given platform will send it to five people. If you send a message insulting someone, the algorithm will push it to 100,000 people. Is it like a lottery? No! Algorithms are ideologically directed to indoctrinate people.”
What did this digital populism do? ‘We cannot eliminate the media, so let’s create a parallel news channel filled with falsehoods that carries the same influence.’ Today, Zezinho from the corner, an influencer, spreads fake news, and newspapers have to comment on it just to debunk it. But by doing so, they already give him credibility. People no longer know whom to believe.”
As Moraes was about to take the podium, one of the event's presiding members stood up holding a sign that read “No Amnesty.” The phrase, referencing the January 8 detainees, was met with applause and chants from the audience.
