by Brazil’s first lady lambasted billionaire Elon Musk over misinformation on social media at a G20 event in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend.
Janja Lula da Silva, whose husband is President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke about the need to fight fake news and regulate social networks as she expressed her feelings towards the Tesla CEO.
At one point in her speech, a ship’s horn sounded, prompting her to jokingly reply, “I think it’s Elon Musk.” Reuters reported. She then said she wasn’t afraid of him and added: “F*** you, Elon Musk.”
Musk, who has consistently stood by Donald Trump since his election victory, immediately responded to the footage that circulated on his social media platform X.
Sharing a recent clip, he simply captioned it, “Lol,” followed by a post that read, “They’re going to lose the next election.”
The first lady has feuded with Musk after she threatened to sue his social media company after her X account was hacked. She accused the SpaceX owner of not responding appropriately.
The incident occurred as X returned to Brazil in October after being unavailable for more than a month following a clash between Musk and a judge at the country’s highest court.
Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes approved the lifting of X’s suspension.
De Moraes ordered X shut down on August 30, after a months-long dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right reporting and misinformation. Musk had denigrated de Moraes, calling him authoritarian and censorious, even though his rulings, including the nationwide suspension of X, were repeatedly echoed by his colleagues.
Musk’s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes’ demands. These included suspending certain accounts on the platform, paying $5 million in fines and appointing a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the ban.
Brazil – a highly online active country of 213 million people – is one of X’s largest markets, with estimates of its user base between 20 and 40 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
