Because of a Knight Center blog post titled “Brazilian court upholds censorship of title of parody newspaper site,” social media editor of Folha de S. Paulo, Marcos Strecker, sent the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas a note denying that the newspaper had censored any blog.
The editor explained that the judicial process the newspaper initiated against the authors of the blog “Falha de S. Paulo” was not an attempt to censor the satirical blog, but rather to put an end to the use of a logo and domain name "virtually identical" to that of the newspaper.
The lawsuit of Folha de S. Paulo against the blog “Falha de S. Paulo” created a controversy, including accusations that the newspaper, despite defending freedom of expression, was censoring the blog, which the newspaper denies. The case also has had international repercussions.
The following is the note sent by Folha de S. Paulo to the Knight Center:
"Contrary to what was reported by the Knight Center's blog, it is not true that any blog has been censored by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
'Folha de S. Paulo' filed a civil suit against the creators of the blog cited in the text to end the use of a logo and domain name virtually identical to that of the newspaper. The lawsuit itself makes clear that the newspaper is not opposed to satire and does not intend to create obstacles to the content of the said blog.
Besides being false, the information is not consistent with the conduct of the newspaper in defense of freedom of expression, with responsibility within the limits of the law.
As the information is incorrect and may mislead the reader, we ask for a quick clarification."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
