Normative dislocation: When platforms moderate without memory

This article introduces the concept of normative dislocation to explain how platform moderation during Brazil’s 2022 presidential elections failed to account for local histories of political violence. Drawing on a digital methods analysis of militaristic discourse across Telegram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and Gettr, we show how moderation standards—rooted in US electoral experiences—prioritized electoral “misinformation” over calls for a military coup. As these circulated, especially on Telegram, platforms operated outside local moderation frameworks developed through processes of reconciliation, dialogue, and democratic reconstruction. In doing so, they risked dislodging institutional processes by reigniting historical conflicts without adequate measures for public dialogue. We conclude by proposing moderation models that integrate various forms of consensus-building and locally embedded understandings of historical violence