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Brazil’s Election Rules on AI and Deepfakes

Brazil’s TSE amended its electoral-advertising rules for the 2026 general elections through Resolution 23.755/2026.

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Last updated Sep 26, 2026

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Overview
Deep Dive
Strategic Impact
The Future of Brazil’s Election Rules on AI and Deepfakes
Real-World Implementation
Risks & Guardrails
Implementation Roadmap
Keep Exploring
Frequently asked questions

Overview

Electoral propaganda using qualifying AI-made or altered synthetic multimedia must carry an explicit disclosure, and new synthetic content using a candidate’s or public figure’s image, voice or expression is barred from 72 hours before through 24 hours after the election ends; a September 2026 TSE ruling clarified the deepfake ban’s electoral-propaganda scope.

Deep Dive

The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) regulates electoral advertising under Resolution 23.610/2019, as amended, including by Resolution 23.755 of March 2, 2026. Article 9-B requires the person responsible for electoral propaganda to disclose explicitly, prominently and accessibly when synthetic multimedia made with AI or equivalent technology is used to create, replace, omit, merge, change the speed of, or overlay images or sounds. The disclosure must say that the content was fabricated or manipulated and identify the technology used. The rule covers different media forms and has special placement requirements for printed materials.

Article 9-C separately prohibits deepfakes in electoral propaganda. The TSE’s September 1, 2026 decision defined deepfake for that provision as realistic or plausible synthetic content produced or manipulated by AI that creates, reproduces or alters the image, voice or expression of a living, deceased or fictional person. The Court held that applying this specific prohibition requires the content to be electoral propaganda. That matters: an AI recreation is not automatically an electoral violation merely because it exists or appears in a political setting; context and legal classification matter.

The 2026 rule adds a blackout period: publication, republication—even without payment—and paid boosting of new synthetic content using the image, voice or expression of a candidate or public figure are barred from 72 hours before until 24 hours after the election ends, even if labeled. TSE materials state that propaganda is permitted beginning August 16, 2026. These are election-specific binding rules and interpretations, not a general Brazilian ban on deepfakes or a platform-wide transparency law. Other removal, disinformation and platform obligations apply under separate provisions.

Technical Insight

Build a campaign workflow with distinct checks for disclosure, deepfake prohibition and blackout-period distribution. At creation, determine whether AI significantly generated or altered synthetic multimedia. At publication, ask whether it is electoral propaganda and whether it creates, reproduces or alters a person’s image, voice or expression with realistic plausibility. Before reposting or boosting, check the 72-hour-before/24-hour-after clock and whether the content is new synthetic media featuring a candidate or public figure. Labels do not override the blackout restriction. Preserve production provenance and timestamps, including who authorized the message and where it was posted. Escalate borderline satire, convention or documentary content for legal review rather than treating every synthetic political image as prohibited. The September TSE thesis provides interpretation for courts, while the resolution supplies the operative requirements. Do not extrapolate these election rules to non-electoral speech or other countries.

Strategic Impact

Risk and safety

Catastrophic and everyday AI harms both depend on who understands the risks and who can act.

Clearer decisions

Public and professional literacy shapes whether strong safety policy is politically possible.

Cutting through hype

Clear explanations reduce capture by hype, lab PR, and vague ethics theater.

The Future of Brazil’s Election Rules on AI and Deepfakes

The 2026 rules apply to Brazil’s general election cycle and the TSE has already issued a binding interpretive thesis in September 2026. Teams should check the latest TSE consolidated Resolution 23.610, court decisions and election calendar immediately before publishing because a new ruling or supplemental resolution can clarify application. Maintain a dated record of the official text and check for new laws, court interpretations and agency guidance before each material update to policy or system use. Election officials and platforms may issue additional implementation details as voting approaches.

Real-World Implementation

A campaign labels an AI-altered candidate video clearly and accessibly and identifies the technology used.

A platform blocks posting, reposting and paid promotion of new synthetic candidate or public-figure media during the statutory pre- and post-election blackout.

A fact-checker distinguishes a realistic AI recreation used as election propaganda from any synthetic parody or convention clip outside that legal context.

A campaign team keeps records of synthetic generation, editing, labels and publication times so it can show compliance with the TSE rule.

Risks & Guardrails

Treating existential risk as sci-fi while capability compounds.
Confusing surface product safety with alignment under high autonomy.
Leaving non-English and non-expert audiences with only low-quality sources.

Implementation Roadmap

Separate product harms, misuse, and loss-of-control / misalignment risks.
Ask what evidence would change your view on timelines and severity.
Prefer primary sources and concrete evals over marketing claims.
Identify one action path: career, policy, funding, or skills — not only awareness.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Brazil’s Election Rules on AI and Deepfakes?

Brazil’s TSE amended its electoral-advertising rules for the 2026 general elections through Resolution 23.755/2026. Electoral propaganda using qualifying AI-made or altered synthetic multimedia must carry an explicit disclosure, and new synthetic content using a candidate’s or public figure’s image, voice or expression is barred from 72 hours before through 24 hours after the election ends; a September 2026 TSE ruling clarified the deepfake ban’s electoral-propaganda scope.

Which rule requires a campaign to disclose qualifying synthetic multimedia in electoral propaganda?

Article 9-B requires explicit, prominent and accessible disclosure when AI-generated or altered synthetic multimedia is used in electoral propaganda.

What must the Article 9-B disclosure communicate?

The resolution requires the responsible party to state that the content was fabricated or manipulated and identify the technology.

Which distribution acts involving new synthetic candidate media are barred in the blackout?

The 2026 rule bars publication, republication and paid boosting of new synthetic content using those likenesses in the specified period.

How long is the 2026 synthetic-content blackout window?

Article 9-B §3-A sets the period from 72 hours before through 24 hours after the end of the election.

Does an accurate label permit new synthetic candidate media during the blackout period?

The rule expressly bars the described new synthetic content even if labeled and otherwise compliant.

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