texas-moody

Brazilian public bank Caixa Econômica Federal uses advertising to censor media

"Imagine the page of a news outlet that, a little more than two months before the election for president of the Republic, cannot mention the names of 'Jair Bolsonaro' and 'Lula,' the main candidates for office.

[...]

These words and dozens of others, totaling 239 terms, are on a list of expressions prohibited by Caixa Econômica Federal [Brazil's public financial institution]. In other words: none of them can appear on a page in which an advertisement of Caixa is displayed. In advertising circles, this type of listing is called a 'blocklist'. It is a means used by many advertisers to prevent their brand from being associated with certain topics.

[...]

'This shows that Caixa has become an instrument of the government rather than of the state,' political scientist, André Pereira César, said. 'It is an organ of Bolsonaro. The former president Pedro Guimarães, from the beginning of his term, showed himself to adhere to this philosophy.'"

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