DIGITAL LIFE

Big tech companies may seek to influence Brazil’s 2026 elections, political scientist warns

Brazil’s 2026 electoral process is likely to face strong interference from major technology corporations, commonly referred to as big tech. The warning comes from political scientist Rudá Ricci, who argues that global tech giants will place strategic focus on Brazil, as well as Colombia, which begins its presidential election cycle in May for a term running through 2030.

“These are the largest and most politically significant elections in Latin America this year,” Ricci said in an interview with Radio BdF, on Wednesday (7). “There is already a clear decision: big tech will go all in, flooding voters with millions of messages, all customized, each one telling a different story to a different niche.”

According to Ricci, advances in algorithmic targeting have made these audience segments increasingly precise, a trend that will be aggressively exploited as campaigns intensify in the coming months. “If you’re a Corinthians fan, they’ll say Lula is a Corinthians supporter who never did anything for the club. If you’re a Palmeiras fan, they’ll also say Lula is a Corinthians supporter,” he explained. “And so on.”

Ricci also points to a deeper structural risk in Brazilian society. He notes that recent research shows growing political inertia and individualism among the population, a dynamic that could make large-scale manipulation easier. He cites the public response to the January 8, 2023 coup attempt as an example: while opinion polls show widespread rejection of the attacks, public mobilization in the streets has been limited.

“For us in sociology, this is striking. We have never seen Brazilian society this inert,” Ricci said. “Research across the country shows people increasingly focused on solving their lives individually. That’s extremely worrying, and it will make it much easier for the kind of manipulation we are likely to see starting in August in Brazil.”

A YouTube video claims that 'elections are being manipulated by organized crime' in Brazil... A YouTube video alleges that organized crime is interfering with the results of Brazilian elections by altering electronic voting machines and buying votes in "strategic regions." This is #FAKE.

The narrator also says that the manipulation was "systematic and technologically sophisticated," involving "intentional vulnerabilities in electoral systems" and "altering the software of the voting machines to favor specific candidates," characterized as "democratic hacking on an industrial scale." Furthermore, it would be possible to install modified versions of the software in strategic regions and systems that erased the traces of the manipulation.

The fake news mentions that 5 million votes were manipulated in national elections, of which 2 million would have been due to the alteration of voting machines and 3 million would have been due to acts of intimidation of voters, poll workers, and party representatives.

The plot would ultimately allow for obtaining details about campaign financing and candidates — which, in reality, is open for public consultation.

According to the TRE (Regional Electoral Court) of São Paulo, the video repeats a fake news story already debunked about the security of electronic voting machines and inserts it into a false context of a criminal operation...by g1.globo.com editorial staff

Elon Musk's Twitter (X) and the far-right AfD campaign in 2025...Billionaire Elon Musk gave his support to the far-right AfD party via video conference at a rally in Germany this Saturday (January 25, 2025), amid controversy following his controversial gesture during Donald Trump's inauguration, which was compared to a Nazi salute.

"It's good to be proud to be German. Fight for a bright future for Germany," declared the world's richest man to, according to AfD data, about 4,500 supporters gathered at the Halle Fair (east). He also reiterated his support for the party that embodies, according to him, "the best hope for Germany."

Accusations of Nazi gesture...A gesture by Elon Musk drew attention during the inauguration ceremony of President Donald Trump. In his speech, while thanking those present, the billionaire beat his chest and quickly raised his right hand, with his arm extended forward and his palm facing down(image above Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP), a gesture similar to that given to Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany...by AFP

Facebook and its collusion with Donald Trump's 2016 campaign...Cambridge Analytica, the British consultancy that worked for the election campaign of US President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (09/01/2019 ) to refusing to disclose personal data it had extracted from Facebook. The company was fined £15,000 (US$19,100 or €16,700) by a London court and will also have to pay court costs of £6,000.

Facebook had already admitted that Cambridge Analytica – a political consultancy that managed Trump's digital campaign in 2016 – used an app to collect private information from 87 million users without their knowledge. The company then used this data to send users specially tailored political advertising and to create detailed reports to help Trump win the election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

TikTok promoted a pro-Putin candidate in the 2024 Romanian presidential elections...The Romanian Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) accused the video platform TikTok on Thursday (November 28, 2024) of helping to promote the far-right, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu by not labeling the content of his presidential campaign as political propaganda.

In parallel, Romanian authorities denounced an attempt to manipulate the electoral process, and the country's telecommunications regulatory agency requested the complete suspension of the platform in the country.

Georgescu, a member of the far-right and Orthodox Christian fundamentalist, an admirer of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and former Romanian fascists, was practically ignored by the political establishment and the mainstream media.

However, he won the first round of elections without the polls noticing his advance during the electoral campaign. According to the surveys, the far-right candidate had only 5% of the voting intentions before the election.

The CSAT – a security council led by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, which also includes the heads of the intelligence services, the military, and several ministers – urged police and electoral authorities to investigate the case.

The Romanian electoral commission instructed TikTok to ensure that candidates clearly identified themselves using codes that reveal their funding sources. The platform's failure would have increased Georgescu's visibility and given him an unfair advantage...by Deutsche Welle

Big tech companies may seek to influence Brazil’s 2026 elections, mundophone responds: Yes, there are significant concerns and warnings from political scientists and analysts that big tech companies may seek to influence Brazil's 2026 elections. This potential influence, particularly through large-scale digital manipulation and the spread of disinformation and AI-generated content, is a major point of discussion in Brazil's current political and legal landscape.

Key areas of concern:

-Disinformation and AI: Social media platforms are seen as fertile ground for disinformation, with algorithms that prioritize engaging (often sensational or false) content, which spreads faster than factual news. The unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a direct risk to information integrity and the electoral process, as it can be used to create deepfakes and manipulate public opinion on a massive scale.

-Algorithmic Manipulation: Analysts warn that sophisticated algorithmic targeting can be used to create political "information bubbles," tailoring messages to individual users' biases and making large-scale manipulation easier, especially given research suggesting growing public political disengagement.

-Geopolitical and Economic Interests: There are concerns that U.S.-based big tech companies might act to favor candidates aligned with U.S. interests, within a perceived neocolonial project. This is linked to ongoing tensions over proposed Brazilian legislation that aims to curb the economic power and regulate the activities of these tech giants.

-Regulatory Challenges: The current legislative environment is complex. The Lula government has proposed bills to regulate big tech, but these have stalled in Congress due to political disagreements. In the absence of a comprehensive national law, Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) and Superior Electoral Court (TSE) have taken steps to increase platform accountability, including making platforms civilly liable for failing to proactively remove certain types of illegal content. However, authorities acknowledge that these resolutions may be insufficient to cover all risks.

Overall, the 2026 elections are anticipated to be a challenging period in terms of handling digital content, with a potential conflict between platforms' anti-regulation narratives and the requests of Brazilian electoral authorities.

mundophone responds: k77c49@gmail.com

--mundophone--