Brazil's presidential runoff puts AI, deepfakes, Meta under scrutiny
- On Sunday, October 25, 2026, Brazil holds its presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a tight race that will determine the nation's political direction.
- Lula's campaign and critics allege Meta's algorithms restricted his reach while boosting Bolsonaro; Meta denies bias, attributing discrepancies to mechanical glitches despite a chatbot acknowledging the company's interest in the election outcome.
- On Thursday, 12 U.S. Congressional members and Senator Bernie Sanders requested technical explanations from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while the Superior Electoral Court ordered Meta to ensure equal algorithmic treatment for both candidates.
- A monitoring project identified 920 social media posts using artificial intelligence between August 16 and September 28, with 60% involving deepfakes depicting false endorsements and nonexistent election polls designed to mislead voters.
- Whoever wins this contest will likely influence the composition of the Brazilian Supreme Court, as four seats come up for grabs over the next four years, potentially reshaping the judiciary's capacity to defend democratic institutions.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Brazil spent years fighting election lies on the internet. Now, artificial intelligence is baffling the authorities and transforming a high-risk contest
Brazil Elections: How AI, Meta and Evangelicals Could Sway the Presidential Race for Bolsonaro
Brazilian voters are heading to the polls on Sunday for the presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, with polls showing a tight race that will decide whether Brazil remains led by the left or joins the right-wing surge across Latin America. We speak to reporter Laís Martins of The Intercept Brasil.
Brazil: As the second round of the presidential election approaches, the #IA is everywhere. False images, false voices, false stories but mostly false information about political content. The left accused Meta of limiting the circulation of its content on Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta's supervisory committee has recognized that there are recurring loopholes in moderation.The company is likely to be fined by the electoral court. Analysis of our co…
Brazil Election Meta Controversy Raises Neutrality Concerns
Brazil’s electoral prosecutor has told the country’s top election court that Meta, the American owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not fully obeyed orders to treat Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro equally, and wants the company …
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Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
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