X Updates Algorithm After Failing to Block Candidate Profiles as Required

The social media platform X has modified its algorithm to adhere to electoral regulations set by Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE). These rules mandate that social networks remove candidate profiles from their content recommendation systems during election campaigns. The aim is to prevent algorithms from providing preferential treatment to certain candidates.

An analysis by the organization Sleeping Giants Brasil, along with research by Folha, indicated that X had not consistently applied this filter to all candidates who had declared their profiles to the TSE. This oversight meant that content from certain candidates could still be recommended to users who did not follow them, with the exception of paid, boosted posts.

After being questioned by the press, X updated its algorithm on Tuesday evening to include more candidate profiles in the filter. Initially, the platform's disclosed algorithm listed 665 accounts, while Folha's analysis identified over 2,107 candidate profiles declared to the TSE. This suggested at least 1,442 accounts were not being filtered. Following the report, the list of filtered accounts increased to nearly 2,400, and subsequent navigation by the reporter did not reveal further recommendations of candidate profiles.

This delay in full compliance means that candidates whose profiles were filtered later in the campaign may have been disadvantaged compared to those whose content was blocked from the outset on August 16. The platform had not responded to Folha by the time of publication regarding these findings. Additionally, some accounts appearing in the recommended tab had not been declared to the TSE or contained typographical errors.