The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powers

BrazilRSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

President Getúlio Vargas created the Department of Press and state messaging in 1939 during Brazil's Estado Novo dictatorship, giving the government direct control over what newspapers, radio and film could publish. The department operated as a central instrument of press controls for six years, until the Estado Novo ended in 1945.123

What happened

Getúlio Vargas, president of Brazil, had ruled by decree since closing Congress in 1937 and declaring the Estado Novo, or New State. In 1939 his government created the Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda, the Department of Press and state messaging, known as the DIP, to control news content and promote the government's political program across newspapers, radio and film. The DIP reviewed material before publication, dictated approved themes and language, and could shut down or discipline outlets that stepped outside its guidelines. It functioned as the government's central instrument of press control for six years, shaping coverage of Vargas's policies and suppressing criticism of his government. The DIP was dissolved in 1945 when the Estado Novo ended and Vargas was removed from power by the military, though its intelligence and information functions were later inherited by successor government bodies.123

What reason was given

Stated justification

Vargas's government presented the DIP as the coordinating body for national state messaging under the Estado Novo, tasked with promoting the government's program rather than acknowledging a role in suppressing criticism.123

What changed for reporting

Brazilian newspapers, radio stations and filmmakers operated under the DIP's pre-publication review and approved-content guidelines for six years, with the department able to discipline or close outlets that published material outside its guidelines.2

Timeline

1939

1939
Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powers

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda (DIP)enforcedBrazilian government press and state messaging department
Getúlio VargasannouncedPresident of Brazil

Sources

  1. Em 1939, Getúlio Vargas cria o Departamento de Imprensa e PropagandaRádio Câmara, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, reporting. Source record
  2. Estado Novo (Brazilian history)Encyclopaedia Britannica, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. The Department of Press and Propaganda, the DIP, was created in Vargas's Brazil in 1939 to promote Getúlio Vargas's political propaganda.O DIP, Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda foi criado no Brasil de Vargas em 1939 para promover a propaganda política de Getúlio Vargas.Em 1939, Getúlio Vargas cria o Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda, Rádio Câmara, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil.Claim 144, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. For six years the DIP served as a powerful instrument of censorship in Brazil.Por seis anos, foi um poderoso instrumento de censura no paísEm 1939, Getúlio Vargas cria o Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda, Rádio Câmara, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil.Claim 145, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. Brazil's Estado Novo was a dictatorial period from 1937 to 1945 under President Getúlio Vargas, the period during which the DIP operated.dictatorial period (1937–45) in Brazil during the rule of President Getúlio VargasEstado Novo (Brazilian history), Encyclopaedia Britannica.Claim 146, checked 2026-09-22.