AI-Powered Political Posts Double in Brazil Over Two Weeks

The use of artificial intelligence by Brazilian politicians on social media has dramatically increased, with identified AI-generated posts doubling in the last two weeks of July. A survey by the Institute Democracy in Xeque (DX) revealed 6,022 such posts between July 17 and July 31, a volume twice that of the preceding fortnight.

During this period, 3,164 distinct authors were identified, averaging 401 AI-assisted publications daily. The peak occurred on July 28, with 516 posts detected in a single day. These publications collectively garnered approximately 9.6 million interactions. However, the engagement distribution was highly skewed, with the average interaction per post at 1,600, while the median was only 117. A significant 86% of these posts failed to exceed one thousand interactions.

The most widely shared post of the period was from Michelle Bolsonaro, garnering over 360,000 interactions. This post, which supported Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign, used AI solely for image editing. Another notable post was a video from Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, which received 149,000 interactions. This AI-generated video used illustrative images of a former favela to depict a successful public policy, including the relocation of families and the creation of a park.

Analyzing by political party on Instagram, the Workers' Party (PT) led in the volume of AI posts with 459, followed by the Liberal Party (PL) with 415. However, in terms of interactions, the PL captured about 21% of the total, ahead of the PT (16%). Right-wing narratives frequently included criticism of the Lula administration regarding public spending and family debt. Left-wing posts were more varied, focusing on individual political careers and regional candidate connections. AI was primarily used for comedic and parodic content in these instances.