Lawmakers pay for Facebook ads in ‘Fake News Bill’ debate

Social media platforms and messaging apps have adopted an all-hands-on-deck approach in their campaign against the so-called ‘Fake News Bill’, a piece of draft legislation that would make them liable for monetized third-party content.

Last Tuesday, Telegram sent a message to all Brazilian users claiming that “democracy is under attack in Brazil” and that the bill would “kill the modern internet” and “put an end to freedom of speech.” Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered that Telegram delete the message and publish instead one dictated by the judge himself. Telegram complied.

Google, which spoke publicly against a previous draft of the Fake News Bill last year, has paid over BRL 670,000 (USD 135,000) since late April to boost ads on Facebook and Instagram against the new draft. Both services belong to Meta, one of the main competitors of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

The House approved on April 25 a motion to fast-track the bill, but it was later withdrawn by rapporteur Orlando Silva after tremendous backlash from the Big Techs and the opposition. In this sense, Telegram’s message came at the wrong time: there is little chance that the bill will be voted on in the coming...