AI Regulation Tracker / Regulation in force

Brazil bans election deepfakes and orders "made-with-AI" labels for the 2026 vote

Brazil's top electoral court has codified an AI-disclosure duty, a ban on deepfakes of real people, and a synthetic-content blackout around polling day. Any firm running or hosting Brazilian campaign content now works under an enforceable AI rulebook.

By Anthony Guerriero · Reviewed by The Leveraged Years Editorial Desk · Published July 7, 2026 · Last updated July 7, 2026

Brazil bans election deepfakes and orders

The Leveraged Years AI Regulation Tracker

Regulatory Briefing

Bindingness: Binding Law
Scope: Brazil. Political campaigns and the vendors, agencies, and internet platforms that serve them; regulated professionals advising campaigns (legal, communications, compliance).
What Changed: Resolução TSE nº 23.755, de 2 de março de 2026, amends Resolução TSE nº 23.610/2019 to govern the October 2026 elections. It adds an AI-content labeling duty (Art. 9º-B), a ban on deepfakes of real people, a pre- and post-vote synthetic-content blackout (Art. 9º-B, § 3º-A), platform conformity-plan obligations (Art. 125-B), and a burden-shifting mechanism (Art. 9º-I).
Who This Affects: Candidates, political parties, campaign vendors and ad agencies, and internet service providers hosting or boosting Brazilian political content.
Current Status: Signed, Effective March 2, 2026
Effective Date: March 2, 2026; governs the October 2026 elections
Primary Source: Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Resolução TSE nº 23.755, de 2 de março de 2026. https://www.tse.jus.br/legislacao/compilada/res/2026/resolucao-no-23-755-de-2-de-marco-de-2026
Workflow Impact: Campaign and platform teams must add an AI-disclosure step to every content-approval workflow and a calendar lock that halts new synthetic media during the vote window.
Operational Next Step: If you advise or serve a Brazilian campaign, read Art. 9º-B against your current content pipeline and confirm where the disclosure label attaches and who signs off on it.
Last Verified: July 7, 2026

Brazil's Tribunal Superior Eleitoral has turned its guidance on artificial intelligence in campaigns into hard rules for a national election. Resolução TSE nº 23.755, issued March 2, 2026, amends the electoral-propaganda regulation, Resolução TSE nº 23.610/2019, and sets the terms under which AI-generated media may appear in the October 2026 vote. The instrument does three things at once: it requires disclosure, it prohibits a category of content outright, and it imposes a timed blackout on synthetic media around polling day.

The labeling duty

The core obligation sits in Article 9º-B. Under the resolution, propaganda that uses multimedia synthetic content generated by AI carries a duty for the person responsible for the propaganda to inform, in the resolution's words, "de modo explícito, destacado e acessível" (in an explicit, prominent, and accessible manner) that the content was fabricated or manipulated. The rule is specific about placement: the notice must appear on each page or face of printed material where the synthetic content is used. This is not a buried footnote standard. The disclosure has to be visible where the content is.

The reach of the duty turns on two triggers: content that was created by AI, and content that was significantly altered by it. A campaign that uses a generative tool to produce an ad, or to reshape existing footage, falls inside the rule. That covers a wider slice of modern campaign production than most teams assume, since AI now touches image editing, voice work, and video assembly that once counted as ordinary post-production. The practical result is that a labeling decision has to be made at the point of creation, not left to a lawyer at the end of the pipeline.

The deepfake ban and the blackout

The resolution separates two ideas that are often blurred. Labeling governs disclosed, lawful synthetic content. A flat ban governs deepfakes of real people. Campaigns cannot deploy fabricated depictions of a candidate or public figure regardless of any label.

On top of that, Article 9º-B, § 3º-A creates a window ban. It prohibits publishing, republishing, and paid boosting of new synthetic content produced or altered by AI that uses the image, voice, or expression of a candidate or public figure from 72 hours before the vote through 24 hours after it. The window is designed to cut off last-minute synthetic media at the moment when there is no time to correct the record.

Platforms and the burden of proof

The resolution reaches beyond campaigns. Article 125-B requires internet service providers to develop conformity plans that address the AI rules, with measurable indicators and implementation timelines. Platforms are expected to show their work, not simply react to complaints. For a service provider, that is a shift from ad hoc moderation toward a documented compliance program with stated targets and dates.

Article 9º-I adds an evidentiary tool. It allows a judge to shift the burden of proof in synthetic-content disputes, requiring the responsible party to demonstrate how and at which stages AI was used and to verify the accuracy of the information. That reverses the usual posture: the party that deployed the content has to account for it.

What it does not do

The resolution does not make platform non-removal a safe harbor. Under the framework, the failure to remove offending content does not bar the fine set in Lei nº 9.504/1997, Art. 57-D, which runs from R$5,000 to R$30,000. Removal after the fact does not erase exposure. The rule also stops short of banning AI in campaigns generally; disclosed, non-deepfake synthetic content remains permitted outside the blackout window. And enforcement is still early. As of April 2026, the TSE had received 141 complaints, 9 of which involved AI use, a sign that the machinery is running but the AI-specific caseload is small so far.

For a US reader, the cross-border angle is direct. There is no US federal deepfake-election law, and state rules are a patchwork. Brazil's TSE now offers the clearest single national template for AI-content disclosure paired with a pre-vote synthetic-media blackout. US firms that build campaign tools, run ad platforms, or advise candidates operating in Brazil are bound by it, and anyone drafting US rules has a working model to study.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Resolução TSE nº 23.755 actually change?

It amended Brazil's electoral-propaganda rule (Res. 23.610/2019) for the October 2026 elections to require an explicit, prominent, accessible AI-use label on AI-made or AI-altered campaign content (Art. 9º-B), ban deepfakes of real people, and prohibit publishing or boosting new synthetic content from 72 hours before to 24 hours after the vote.

Who has to comply?

Candidates, political parties, campaign vendors and agencies, and internet platforms that host or boost Brazilian political content. Platforms must also file conformity plans under Art. 125-B, and a judge can shift the burden of proof onto the party responsible for the content under Art. 9º-I.

Does taking content down avoid a penalty?

No. Under the resolution, non-removal does not bar the fine in Lei nº 9.504/1997, Art. 57-D, which ranges from R$5,000 to R$30,000. Removing content after the fact does not eliminate the exposure.

Does this ban all AI in Brazilian campaigns?

No. Disclosed, non-deepfake synthetic content is permitted outside the vote-window blackout. What is banned is any deepfake of a real person, and any new synthetic depiction of a candidate or public figure during the 72-hour pre-vote to 24-hour post-vote window.