A flood of paid ads about Starlink, a satellite internet company owned by Elon Musk, appeared on Google and Meta platforms in Brazil after Supreme Court (STF) minister Alexandre de Moraes threatened the X with suspension for not complying with court orders and ending his legal representation in the country.
Lupa survey shows that 41 ads offering Musk’s internet with tempting discounts were active in the last four days of August in national territory – a number far above that practiced by the company in this market.
Data from Google and Meta’s ad libraries show that Space X’s peak investment in Starlink ads in Brazil coincides with a confrontation between X and the Supreme Court. Between January 1 and August 27, an average of one online ad about Starlink every eight days circulated in Brazil.
After the threat of suspension of X, published on Wednesday, August 28, and until Saturday, 31, the investment had a strong rise, reaching 37 active ads at the same time on August 30. Many of them offered discounts of up to 58% for those who joined the company’s internet service in national territory.
READ: Legal battle shuts down X in Brazil: Key points behind the controversy
Therefore, if your computer and mobile phone are flooded with announcements of attractive Starlink plans, know that it is not by chance. These advertising campaigns indicate a strategy by Musk to expand the customer base of his internet company in Brazil and, at the same time, guarantee revenue in the national territory, shaken by the suspension of X.
Last Thursday (29), Moraes decreed the freezing of Starlink’s assets in national territory for understanding that the organization could bear the fines of about R$ 18 million applied to X until then. The minister’s polemical decision says that Musk’s companies form a “de facto economic group”, and, therefore, Starlink values can be used to honor X fines.
On the same day, Musk assured that the company will provide free internet service to its Brazilian customers while their accounts are blocked and received praise on social networks. On Friday (30), the Supreme Court ordered the overthrow of X, blocking access to the application throughout the national territory. But on Sunday, UOL reported that Starlink customers still had regular access to the social network. Starlink informed the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) that it will not comply with the Supreme Court’s order and will not block X in Brazil.
Founded in 2019, Starlink has at least 215,000 customers in the country, according to Anatel.
Advertising was also paid for by Space X
On Google, the company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Space X, the parent company of Starlink and founded by Musk to build spacecraft, paid to activate 39 ads about satellite internet plans between August 28 and 31, 2024. Before that, from January 1st of this year until August 27, the day before the STF summons with the threat of closing X, a total of 31 ads of the same type had been targeted to Brazil.
“Speed up to 200+ Mbps, R$1,000 (58% discount on equipment)”, said one of the 39 ads active on Google in the last week of August.
“Starlink – R$1,200 for the Starlink Kit. The most advanced satellites in the world with high-speed internet and low latency. It’s fast to place the order,” said another active ad on the platform on the 31st, raising the previously set price.
In Meta, highlight for loyalty exemption
On Meta’s platforms, it was Starlink itself – and not Space X – who paid for the ads. Before 2024, the company had never advertised on Facebook, Instagram or Threads, and this year, there were seven advertising pieces directed to Brazil since January. Of this total, two were created in the last four days of August and were still active at the closing of this report. These two ads are also the only ones made in Portuguese – the five previous pieces, already inactive, circulated through the Brazilian market in English, according to data from the Meta library.
The advertising pieces that circulated on Mark Zuckerberg’s social networks followed the style of Google’s. They also brought the 58% discount for membership and the new values of the satellite internet package. But they went a little further and highlighted that Starlink will not require long-term contracts or loyalty plans from its new Brazilian customers.
Effort above the curve
There is no information in the Google and Meta ad libraries about the cost of each ad, nor which states or cities in Brazil were reached by these advertisements. On both platforms, however, it is possible to see that the advertising operation made last week means a large investment compared to what the company has historically made.
Lupa also searched for data on Starlink advertisements on Tiktok, but the ad library of this platform still does not show information about paid advertising in Brazil.
*This article was republished by The FactCheckHub. You can read the original report here on Lupa website.
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