As the two met in Brazil on Friday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro termed Elon Musk’s potential purchase of Twitter a “breath of hope,” adding that he hoped the US billionaire would help erase the “lies” about his much criticised care of the Amazon rainforest.

Bolsonaro and Musk, CEO of electric carmaker Tesla and rocket business SpaceX, met to discuss rural Internet connectivity and Amazon surveillance. The meeting takes place at a critical juncture in both men’s lives.

Bolsonaro is up for re-election in October and has been increasingly isolated on the global stage, while Musk was accused of sexual harassment in a news report on Thursday, an allegation he rejects.

Bolsonaro, a far-right nationalist, has chastised major social media platforms for their efforts to combat disinformation, including the removal of his erroneous comments tying COVID-19 vaccines to the development of AIDS. Musk, whom Bolsonaro referred to as a “libertarian legend,” has promised to safeguard free expression on Twitter.

Bolsonaro has been widely criticised around the world for proposing more mining and farming in the Amazon, as well as for Brazil’s environmental deterioration. According to recent satellite data, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has reached a 15-year high under Bolsonaro.

Speaking alongside Musk at an upscale hotel in the countryside near Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro hailed the billionaire’s bid for Twitter, saying “it was like a breath of hope.”

“We need, and are counting on Elon Musk for the Amazon to be known by all in Brazil and the world, to show … how we have protected it, and how much harm is caused by those who spread lies about that region,” he told a news conference.

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