TSE Confirms Removal of False Claims Linking Flávio Bolsonaro to Nossa Senhora Aparecida
By Hotspotnews
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed on September 30, 2026, the removal of social media posts that falsely claimed Senator Flávio Bolsonaro intended to strip Nossa Senhora Aparecida of her title as Patroness of Brazil.
The claims circulated widely in the days before the decision. They attributed to Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate for the Liberal Party, support for a measure that would revoke the religious title established by law in 1930. Court records and reporting show no such proposal originated with him or his campaign. The only related legislative text cited in coverage is a 2007 bill introduced by then-deputy Victório Galli, unrelated to the current candidate.
Minister André Mendonça, the case rapporteur, had issued an earlier injunction ordering platforms to take down more than a thousand links that directly tied Bolsonaro to the false claim, with a R$50,000 fine for noncompliance. The full virtual plenary later ratified the core of that order. Ministers agreed the assertion that Bolsonaro had proposed, supported, or organized any change to the patroness title was factually false. After discussion of scope, Mendonça adjusted his position to preserve one post by comedian Antonio Tabet. That post did not name Bolsonaro and was treated as ambiguous humor rather than a direct false accusation. The remaining content that explicitly linked the candidate to the claim was ordered removed.
Reporting from Revista Oeste, CNN Brasil, G1, and Estadão described the 6-1 outcome and noted intervening decisions. Minister Flávio Dino of the Supreme Federal Court had briefly suspended the original removal order; Minister Luiz Fux later restored it, returning the matter to the electoral court. TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques and other ministers, including Dias Toffoli, joined the majority that upheld removal of the direct false statements.
The episode occurred in the final stretch of the 2026 presidential campaign and drew attention because it mixed electoral rules, religious symbolism, and claims of disinformation. Platforms were instructed to act against new posts repeating the same core falsehood.
Sources: Revista Oeste, CNN Brasil, G1, Estadão (September 29–30, 2026 reporting).
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