Starting this Friday (16), the campaign for the October municipal elections officially begins, with propaganda and requests for votes being released on the internet and in the streets. The campaign will run until the eve of the vote, scheduled for October 6. 
For example, the distribution of leaflets, walks, motorcades, rallies, the use of sound equipment and other types of political demonstrations are permitted, as well as the transmission of these events on social media.
According to the rules, candidates can launch their websites and ask for votes on social media profiles and messaging apps, although mass mailings are prohibited.
It is also prohibited to pay for personalities and influencers to display candidate advertisements on their internet profiles, even though these people can voluntarily express support for candidates and distribute campaign material free of charge.
Boosting advertising on the internet – that is, paying for greater reach – is permitted under a series of conditions, including that the platform offering the service maintains a voter service channel, for example. These requirements have forced companies such as Google stop participating in this market. Big Tech announced that this year it will not allow electoral propaganda on its platforms in Brazil.
The electoral propaganda that begins today (16) should not be confused with the free electoral time on radio and TV, which will be broadcast from August 30 to October 3. The use of these mass media is more restricted, and the hiring of advertising space beyond the time stipulated by the Electoral Court for each party is prohibited.
Artificial intelligence
This should also be the first election in Brazil directly impacted by new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, those capable of producing synthetic images and sounds very close to real ones.
Given the lack of laws on AI in the country, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided to move forward and approve rules to regulate the use of this type of technology in electoral propaganda. According to the approved rules, the use of “synthetic multimedia content” generated by AI must always be accompanied by a warning about its use, regardless of the type of electoral propaganda.
In radio ads, for example, if there are sounds created by AI, this must be warned to the listener before the ad goes on air. Static images require a watermark, while audiovisual material must provide prior warning and display the watermark. In printed material, the warning must appear on each page that contains images generated by AI.
In case of non-compliance, any advertisement may be removed from circulation, either by court order or even on the initiative of the communication service providers themselves, as provided for in the electoral resolution that deals with the issue.
In addition to the ban on disinformation in general, one of the articles of this resolution explicitly prohibits deep fakeprohibiting “the use, to harm or favor a candidacy, of synthetic content in audio, video format or a combination of both, which has been generated or manipulated digitally, even with authorization, to create, replace or alter the image or voice of a living, deceased or fictitious person”.
In this case, the consequences for non-compliance are more serious, and may result in the cancellation of the candidate’s registration or even the eventual mandate. An investigation for electoral crime may also be opened. Anyone who discloses facts that they know to be untrue about parties or candidates, and that are capable of influencing the electorate, may be subject to a sentence of two months to one year in prison.
When dealing with disinformation, the Electoral Court has police powers, that is, it can order the removal of material ex officio, without being provoked. The removal order may be issued within less than 24 hours if the case is serious.
These orders may be directed to social media platforms, for example, which are required to comply with them through identified access to the systems, which must be communicated to the Electoral Court.
All details about electoral propaganda can be found in a resolution published in TSE portal.
General rules
The same rules that apply to other types of material apply to advertisements made with AI – everything must always be accompanied by the party caption and be produced in Portuguese.
An old rule is that no electoral propaganda can “use advertising means intended to artificially create mental, emotional or passionate states in public opinion”. Anonymity is also prohibited.
In addition to spreading misinformation, it is also prohibited to: convey prejudices based on origin, ethnicity, race, sex, color, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as any form of discrimination; depreciate the status of women or encourage discrimination against them; convey offensive content that constitutes slander, defamation or insult; among others.
In the case of street campaigns, it is forbidden to “disturb the public peace”, says the regulation on the subject, whether “with noise or abuse of sound instruments or acoustic signals, including those caused by fireworks”.
As in previous elections, the following remain prohibited: billboardstelemarketing and show rallies, as well as the use of devices that resemble electronic ballot boxes as a vehicle for electoral propaganda.
Walks, parades and motorcades are permitted as long as they take place between 8am and 10pm and up until the day before the election. These events may use sound trucks or mini electric trios, as well as meetings and rallies. There is no need for police authorization, but security authorities must be notified at least 24 hours in advance of the campaign event.
The electoral rules also detail the maximum power that each of these sound devices must have – 10,000W for sound cars, 20,000W for ministers and above that for electric trios, permitted only at rallies. Even so, such tools can only be used in the context of an electoral event, never in isolation.
Another long-standing prohibition is the production or distribution of gifts such as keychains, caps or pens directly to voters. Stickers and pins are permitted, however. T-shirts may only be given to campaign workers.
These and other authorizations and prohibitions on electoral propaganda can be seen in a primer produced by the Regional Electoral Court of Pernambuco (TRE-PE).
Complaints
Anyone who notices any irregularity can report it to the Electoral Court through the Pardal app, available for cell phones with Android or iOS operating systems.
The TSE also provides the Electoral Disinformation Alert System (Siade), which can be triggered in cases of disinformation, threats and incitement to violence, disruption or threat to the Democratic Rule of Law, irregularities in the use of AI, hateful behavior or speech and receipt of irregular messages.
