On July 8, Facebook Inc. announced it had taken down a network of social media profiles owned by figures linked to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and two of his sons, who are also in politics. The justification for the removal was that these profiles engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” which violates the company’s terms of use. Combined, the pages and profiles in question had an audience of more than two million accounts.
The network comprised 14 Facebook pages, 35 personal accounts, 38 Instagram pages, and one Facebook group. Beyond being linked to advisors of the First Family, the...