While Brazil Remains in a Loop of Repeated News, I Followed the Attack on Charlie Kirk Through Streaming

Few things are as brutal as hearing bloody news within seconds, even when you are thousands of miles away. I was listening to FOX because of its proximity to presidential events and also due to reports of Russian drone advances over Poland. Logically, if something significant were to happen, FOX would likely be among the first networks to announce it, feeding the world’s war anxieties. But that afternoon, what reached me was the report of a fatal shot in Utah — a gunshot that silenced a voice of debate.

It was not the elimination of a totalitarian, but of someone willing to defend his viewpoint. Even if one argues that he merely wanted to prove his point, the very fact that he designed a format forcing himself to listen to opposing arguments already made him more democratic than many of his accusers. In Brazil, however, major outlets quickly began labeling Kirk as a “far-right radical,” which reads like the early rehearsal of a narrative — a justification for the act, almost an implicit pardon for the aggressor who silenced an opposing voice.

The press has sides. Unfortunately, very few journalists manage to uphold the minimum ethical standards of reporting. Most have specialized in painting the news with the colors of the dominant ideology in journalism schools, where we all know debate is deeply unbalanced. Yes, FOX is not neutral — I am fully aware of that. Precisely because of this awareness, I can filter what they downplay or amplify depending on their editorial interests. And in this sense, it is far easier to detect FOX’s adjustments than the cruel disguise of NBC and others.

The news reached me through streaming, not traditional radio. Streaming has been gaining ground because the digital radio debate in Brazil remains stagnant. That is why I end up listening to a New York station, while here we remain stuck in a loop of recycled headlines about a trial whose outcome holds no real drama or surprise. It feels like watching a long, tiresome soccer match where the final score is known even before kickoff. The mainstream press imagines a suspense factor that simply doesn’t exist. Of course, there will be key days when the country pauses to watch the penalty kick, and later, to await the final whistle and confirmation of the result. But beyond that, it is just the repetition of a predictable storyline.