Brazil Court Upholds Defamation Ruling Against Man Who Accused Journalist

Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has definitively rejected an appeal by Hans River do Rio Nascimento, a former employee of the mass-messaging company Yacows. This ruling upholds a São Paulo court's decision ordering Nascimento to pay R$ 25,000 in moral damages to Folha newspaper reporter Patrícia Campos Mello.

The case stems from false accusations Nascimento made in 2020 during testimony before the CPMI das Fake News (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Fake News). He alleged that Campos Mello had insinuated sexual favors in exchange for information. These statements were subsequently shared on social media by then-federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro.

In October 2024, São Paulo's 22nd Private Law Chamber had already upheld the initial conviction, though they reduced the damages from R$ 50,000 to R$ 25,000. Nascimento worked for Yacows, a digital marketing firm, during the 2018 election campaign. A Folha report in December 2018, based on labor court documents and Nascimento's own accounts, revealed a network of companies, including Yacows, that allegedly used the fraudulent registration of elderly individuals' names and CPF numbers to send bulk messages supporting political candidates.

The STJ ministers unanimously denied Nascimento's appeal, following the rapporteur's vote. They affirmed that the type of appeal filed did not allow for re-litigating the occurrence of moral damages, as this would require re-examining evidence, which is prohibited at the special instance level. The defense's claims of procedural obstruction and violation of equal arms were also dismissed. The initial ruling by Judge André Augusto Salvador Bezerra stated that publicly claiming a woman offered sexual favors for journalistic work is an act capable of defamation.

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to affirm publicly that a woman promised a man sexual favors in exchange for information for journalistic work is an affirmation capable of defaming her.