Brazilian congressional candidates Nikolas Ferreira and André Janones are using social-media accounts for campaign activity even though the profiles were not initially reported to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), according to single-source reporting by Folha de S.Paulo.
The issue became more prominent after TSE Justice Dias Toffoli suspended digital campaign advertising by Renan Santos, the Mission party’s presidential candidate. Toffoli also barred Santos from participating in debates and receiving transfers from Brazil’s public campaign-financing fund. The decision cited Santos’s failure to identify some social-media profiles until days after filing his candidacy registration.
Profiles and Campaigning
Ferreira, a federal lawmaker and candidate for re-election from Minas Gerais with the Liberal Party (PL), registered his candidacy on August 7. He requested the addition of his Kwai and YouTube accounts, as well as his official website, to his electoral filing on August 26—19 days later.
The TSE has already approved Ferreira’s candidacy but has not yet authorized the use of those networks for campaign purposes. Despite that, he continues to campaign and posts daily videos on YouTube, Folha reported.
Janones, a federal candidate from Minas Gerais affiliated with Rede, faces a similar situation. He has used his account on X to campaign and attack political opponents, although he did not identify the profile to electoral authorities.
After details of the decision against Santos emerged, Janones’s campaign filed a petition with the TSE to add his accounts on X, YouTube and Kwai. The filing was submitted at 5:25 p.m. on Monday, August 31.
Why Reporting Matters
TSE rules require candidates to officially identify the social-media profiles they use in campaigns. Platforms must then remove those accounts from recommendation systems, which are designed to suggest content to users.
Profiles that candidates do not report to electoral authorities are not subject to that filter. As a result, they can continue to receive algorithmic recommendations to voters, according to Folha’s account of the rule and its effects.
The question has also drawn scrutiny from TSE Justice André Mendonça. He requested explanations from X after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign said the platform’s filter worked for roughly 600 candidacies but excluded the profiles of more than 1,500 candidates.
Folha said it contacted the press offices of Ferreira and Janones but had received no response by the time the report was published. The available reporting does not establish whether the TSE will apply sanctions to either candidate or whether the newly filed profiles will be approved.