Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele Express Support to Joe Rogan
The presidents of Brazil and El Salvador have expressed their support to American podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday after Rogan's rift with Spotify has come to light.
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro directed his message to Rogan, saying that he is sending the American podcaster with "hugs." He also told him to stand his ground, according to a Breitbart News report.
El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele used the issue to attempt to discredit his detractors, pointing out that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has directly weighed in on Rogan's podcast, calling for him to be censored.
Bolsonaro tweeted that he does not know what Rogan thinks about him or his government, adding that it does not matter.
- I'm not sure what @joerogan thinks about me or about my government, but it doesn't matter. If freedom of speech means anything, it means that people should be free to say what they think, no matter if they agree or disagree with us. Stand your ground! Hugs from Brazil. 👍
— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) February 3, 2022
Some lauded Bolsonaro's support towards Rogan, with one Twitter user with a handle @MyArgue replying to the Brazilian president's tweet asking if they could live in Brazil.
Twitter user @marcoaurelio969 described Bolsonaro as the "best Brazilian president ever."
That's great Mr. BOLSONARO
— Marco 🇧🇷 SOS democracy (@marcoaurelio969) February 3, 2022
The best Brazilian president ever
Bukele also took on Twitter to express his sentiments regarding the matter, wherein he noted that freedom of the press is under attack in El Salvador.
FrEeDoM oF tHe PrEsS iS uNdEr AtTaCk In El SaLvAdOr https://t.co/PkPlVOeOc0
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 2, 2022
READ NEXT: Brazil: Senate Committee Recommends to Criminally Charge Pres. Jair Bolsonaro Over COVID Response
Brazil's and EL Salvador's Presidents
Bolsonaro has been known as the "Tropical Trump." He was also accused of spreading disinformation on the pandemic, according to a France24 News report.
Last October, a major inquiry report found that Bolsonaro should be accused of a series of crimes over his pandemic management.
The report was a gathered inquiry for six months and has revealed scandals and corruption in government, according to a BBC News report.
The panel at the time wanted Bolsonaro to face a number of criminal charges, which included crimes against humanity.
The Brazilian president said at the time that they that are guilty of "absolutely nothing." He then insisted that they did the right thing from the first moment.
Bukele also has his own issues in his administration, with thousands of protesters marching back to the streets last October to demonstrate against his administration.
The protesters were composed of feminist groups, human rights advocates, environmentalists, as well as opposition political parties.
They were carrying signs that read, "Bitcoin is fraud," according to a DW News report.
El Salvador has used the U.S. dollar as the legal currency for two decades when it decided to become the first country to use Bitcoin as the national currency.
Twitter user @JacobOracle noted that El Salvador is down $20 million since investing in Bitcoin.
Iranian-American economist Nouriel Roubini called for the impeachment of Bukele since his decision over Bitcoin.
El Salvador's experiment with Bitcoin is an unmitigated disaster: whoever held BTC lost 50%, the country spread is thru the roof and the sovereign is near bankrupt. They should impeach that buffoon @nayibbukele, a criminal president who is bankrupting the country!
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) January 23, 2022
Joe Rogan's Spotify Backlash
Rogan came under fire after Spotify faced pressure to remove his podcast on the platform.
The known UFC commentator issued an apology to the streaming platform and vowed to have more balance and better research on his program, according to a Sportskeeda report.
Rogan's podcast episodes with Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone are what generate the most amount of backlash.
Spotify has since said that it will add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about the pandemic.
White Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her press briefing that they want every platform to be doing more to be calling out misinformation and disinformation while also touting accurate information.
READ MORE: Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Says Only God Can Remove Him From Power Amid Rallies, Supreme Court Fight
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Spotify taking steps to calm growing boycott over podcaster Joe Rogan - from CBC News
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