In a move set to influence the upcoming elections in Brazil, the country’s top electoral court has established new criteria for recognizing artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes in political campaigns. This initiative is part of a broader effort to mitigate misinformation and manipulation as the October elections approach.
The ruling was announced after a case involving Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, an opposition candidate. During his party’s convention, AI-generated visuals of his father, the former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently imprisoned, were used to bolster his campaign against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The event in question took place at the Liberal Party’s convention in Sao Paulo in July, where the AI-generated former president encouraged attendees to support his son’s presidential aspirations.
Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for leading an attempted coup, as reported in previous news. Despite the use of deepfakes, the electoral court decided in a 4-3 vote not to penalize Sen. Bolsonaro. The court reasoned that the AI-generated content was used at a private event before he officially declared his candidacy, and thus did not constitute public political advertising.
However, with a 5-2 vote, the court set a definition for deepfakes in political advertising. It described them as “synthetic content produced or manipulated via artificial intelligence or equivalent technology,” capable of realistically altering the image, voice, or speech of any person, whether living, deceased, or fictional.
Online activities play a significant role in Brazil’s presidential elections, yet traditional media like television and radio continue to hold substantial sway over voter opinions. Broadcasters are required to allocate time for political content, dedicating 14 minutes daily for nearly 1,000 30-second ads, alongside 12 1/2-minute segments exclusively for presidential candidates.
The new rules are poised to impact a wide array of campaign content as candidates prepare for the first voting round on October 4. For further information, visit AP’s Latin America coverage.
