STF President Edson Fachin Takes Over Controversial Fake News Inquiry

Supreme Court (STF) President Edson Fachin has removed Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the reporting of the fake news inquiry and will now personally lead the investigation. The decision comes as a move to resolve a crisis within the Court following conflicts between Justice Moraes and Justice André Mendonça. This tension escalated after Mendonça lifted the secrecy of the Master case, which revealed messages sent to a phone attributed to Moraes. In response, Moraes used the fake news inquiry to request an investigation into Mendonça for alleged partiality. Fachin had previously expressed the urgency of closing the inquiry, which is one of the oldest still pending in the Court. The investigation was opened on March 14, 2019, by then president Dias Toffoli. It was established without a prior lottery or distribution among members and was initiated by the Court itself rather than the Prosecutor General's Office. The inquiry aims to investigate fraudulent news, threats, and schemes to harm the independence of the Judiciary and the STF. Over the years, the probe has targeted politicians, journalists, and businessmen, leading to measures such as the blocking of social media profiles and preventive arrests. While a center leaning source describes the move as a way to bypass a crisis between ministers, a center right leaning source emphasizes that the inquiry is one of the most controversial in the country's history due to its deviation from traditional accusatory systems.