As free speech is under attack in Brazil, powerful political opponents of President Jair Bolsonaro are getting squeezed by authorities, and millions of people are looking for a social media outlet to express themselves. These are the conclusions drawn by Jason Miller, Chief Executive Officer of the new free speech social media platform GETTR, which fights censorship and cancel culture, following his visit to Brazil earlier this year.

Miller details these observations, and includes a description of his brief detainment by authorities as he attempted to leave Brazil to fly home to America, in a new op-ed in Folha De S. Paulo:

“We launched the social network GETTR on July 4th (US Independence Day) to tackle the culture of cancellation. We were soon overwhelmed by the interest of Brazilians. That’s why I went to Brazil in September to participate in CPAC (conservative conference). There, I learned that many freedom loving Brazilians were being censored not only by the big techs, but also by their authorities - far beyond the limits of the law.”

“I also understood that the people who feel persecuted for their opinions in Brazil are usually those who support President Jair Bolsonaro. It is natural, then, that they are among the first Brazilians to join GETTR: they are among the millions around the world who yearn for a forum of freedom.”

“Things soon became more personal: when I was leaving, I was detained for three hours by the Federal Police, at Brasilia airport, to be questioned about GETTR by order of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court. It was clear that I had been caught in a feud between him and Bolsonaro. Our imaginary crime would have been publicizing our new free speech based social media platform.”

Read the rest here.