Brazilian politics is undergoing a profound transformation. Candidates are no longer just political figures traversing the country; they are becoming digital creators. They must still present solid proposals, but they must also master the logic of social media, which demands audiovisual fluency, frequent posting, and constant interaction.
Political scientist Wilson Gomes describes 2026 as the first Brazilian presidential election of the mature generative-AI era, and it is also a tight one. In Datafolha’s poll conducted early in September, Lula led the first round with 38% to Flávio Bolsonaro‘s 32%, while the runoff was a technical tie at 46% to 44%. Quaest found a similar picture, with the runoff at 42% to 41%.
From Candidate to “Political Creator”
What we are witnessing is more than an evolution of political marketing: it is the birth of a “political media” logic. Politicians once depended on traditional outlets to reach the public. Now they build their own channels, produce continuous content, control narratives and cultivate a direct relationship with their base.
According to Alexandre Filho, a sociology professor, this transformation has been driven by the erosion of traditional media ‘s roles as the main intermediary of public debate. With the rise of social platforms, political communication has shifted from periodic mass broadcasting during election campaigns to continuous, algorithm-driven mobilization.
The clearest example is Flávio Bolsonaro (PL). On September 7, his campaign launched “TV Celular,” a YouTube channel with 24-hour programming. According to campaign marketer Duda Lima, the launch cost around R$ 3 million. The structure includes four studios, with guests, debates and interviews, while allies, influencers and the public send in material. The campaign claims 720,000 views and a peak of 48,000 simultaneous viewers on debut, figures that come from the campaign itself. Observers read the project as an attempt to turn the live-stream model associated with “Bolsonarismo”, into a continuous schedule of electoral content.
“Bolsonarismo” is a right-wing political movement in Brazil, associated with the former president Jair Bolsonaro. It combines social conservatism, economic liberalism, and anti-establishment nationalism.
President Lula’s campaign, without a channel of its own, has built a distribution “machine” instead. It operates at least four WhatsApp content channels (Lulaverso, Zap do Lula, Pode Espalhar and Porta-Voz do Lula) and now hands out daily tasks to supporters. The Porta-Voz initiative, created in June, aims to turn supporters into micro-influencers within their family, professional and social circles.
The observers argue that this is not the end of intermediaries, but their replacement: platforms, algorithms, influencers and fan communities now stand between candidates and voters, and nobody enters a campaign without an audience of their own.
The Campaign as a Media Product: the Language of the Internet
Today’s campaigns are products of digital media. Candidates’ pages no longer focus simply on institutional videos defending public policies. Traditional political language now coexists with memes, trend-chasing, behind-the-scenes vlogs and the fast “industry of cuts” fed by podcasts. Debates and interviews are no longer a television monopoly, and the real life of a political event begins after the broadcast, in the clips that compete to fix an interpretation in public memory.
Alexandre says that this shift is changing the very basis of political legitimacy. Historically, politicians built their public image around institutional authority, decorum and formality. Today, legitimacy increasingly relies on what he describes as “relational authenticity or the performance of it”.
The right has been faster to master this vernacular. When Romeu Zema (Novo), and Flávio Bolsonaro joined a viral video trend joking about a joint ticket, it showed the right comfortable with humor and informality, while the left struggles to adapt a traditional discourse to a medium where lightness and speed are decisive. Inside Lula’s campaign, the tension is visible: Sidônio Palmeira‘s wing favors a more institutional line, while Ricardo Stuckert and Nicole Briones, who manage Lula’s Instagram, push for a more aggressive, meme-driven approach to confronting “Bolsonarismo”.
As a result, politicians now operate with multiple digital personas. A candidate may adopt a serious, institutional tone to discuss policy, then switch to humor and pop-culture references to show their daily routine. On TikTok, short vertical videos with trending music and visual effects maximize reach. On Instagram, short videos and direct, informal speech create identification, foster empathy and build a sense of closeness.
Influencers on the Popular Vote and on the Campaign Team
Parties are also recruiting creators as candidates. The PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores) is running Thiago dos Reis, creator of the channel Plantão Brasil, and Pedro Rousseff, a councilman from Belo Horizonte, with a strong online presence. Beyond party lines, names such as Inês Brasil, Tiririca, Manoel Gomes, Datena and MC Gui are also on the popular vote.
Virality, however, is no guarantee. Pablo Marçal, who came within a hair of the runoff in São Paulo’s 2024 mayoral race, is ineligible this year.
Performative Candidates and Constructed Spontaneity
With campaigns relying heavily on emotional appeal and impactful digital ads, there is a constant risk of candidates appearing artificial. Yet the line between artificiality and authenticity is complex. Political spontaneity online is often a highly strategic construct: a video that looks improvised usually involves careful scripting, calculated framing, precise editing, and a deliberate choice of when to publish. This does not mean the politician’s behavior is fake, but it shows that “authenticity” itself has become a tool.
Artificial intelligence has pushed this trend even further. In April, the parties PT, PartidoVerde (PV) and Partido Comunista Brasileiro (PCB) asked the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to suspend profiles of “Dona Maria”, an AI-generated character depicted as a elderly black woman whose realistic appearance could lead the public to believe she is a real person.
The Electoral Court now requires AI-created or significantly altered content to carry an explicit, highlighted, and accessible notice. On September 1, the TSE ruled, by 5 -2 vote, that a deepfake is realistic synthetic content that recreates a person’s image or voice, and that the ban applies only to electoral propaganda. The court therefore overturned a fine imposed on Flávio for an AI-generated video recreating Jair Bolsonaro’s image and voice. Authenticity is now being defined in court.
Audience vs. Vote: The Battle for Attention
Social media has shifted the political battlefield. Candidates are no longer competing solely for votes; they are locked in a persistent competition for attention, views, followers, and engagement. But attention does not translate automatically into votes.
The interviewee sees this transformation as structural rather than simply technological. In his view, political communication is entering a new era in which traditional political language (formal, elaborate, and associated with the traditional campaign rally) can be perceived by digital audiences as “fake”, inaccessible or belonging to the “old politics.” The pressure to behave like an influencer pushes political communication toward permanent informality and increasingly personalized messaging.
The “popular vote” boxes on October 4th and on October 25th (in case there is a runoff), will answer the question that defines this election: can followers, viral memes and 24-hour channels be turned into real votes?
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The article above was edited by Ana Clara Bezson Dalla Costa.
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