Brazilian Justice Suspends Conviction of Scientists Who Debunked Fake News
In a preliminary ruling, Dias Toffoli cites the use of scientific data and the right to information and scientific expression to overturn a decision by São Paulo's judiciary
Oct.2.2024 1:45PM
On Saturday (28), STF justice Dias Toffoli temporarily suspended a decision by São Paulo's judiciary against biologist Ana Bonassa and pharmacist Laura Marise, creators of the channel "Não Vi 1 Cientista" (Never Seen a Scientist).
Biologist Ana Bonassa and pharmacist Laura Marise. - Deborah Trittoli/Disclosure
They had been sued and convicted after debunking a video with false information about diabetes. The biologist and the pharmacist, along with the Vladimir Herzog Institute and the "Fiquem Sabendo" Association, filed a constitutional complaint with the STF against the São Paulo court's decision, which had ordered the removal of their content and imposed a fine to be paid to nutritionist André Luis Lanca, whose profile had republished the video containing false information. Lanca had shared content from a therapist falsely claiming that diabetes is caused by worms that attack the pancreas.
In his preliminary ruling, Toffoli stated that he saw no proportional justification for removing the researchers' content. In his view, this measure affects "freedom of thought and the right to information and scientific expression." He added that the plaintiff had a public profile and that Bonassa and Marise's video criticized the nutritionist's actions using scientific data on diabetes. Toffoli also highlighted the supremacy of freedom of the press over personality rights.
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2024/10/brazilian-justice-suspends-conviction-of-scientists-who-debunked-fake-news.shtml