X fails to enforce electoral fairness rule in Brazil recommendation system
X failed to properly implement a Brazilian electoral authority rule requiring exclusion of candidate profiles from recommendation systems during the 2026 campaign, leaving over 1,400 candidates unblocked and granting them unequal exposure for nine days. The platform corrected the filter only after journalists documented the discrepancy.
What happened
The Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE) issued a rule requiring X to exclude declared candidate profiles from its recommendation systems during the 2026 electoral campaign, beginning 16 August. The rule applies to accounts declared by candidacies, with the exception of paid promoted content.
Analysis by Folha de S.Paulo and Sleeping Giants Brasil identified that X had only blocked 665 candidate accounts by 25 August, when more than 2,107 candidates had declared profiles on the platform, leaving at least 1,442 accounts unblocked. During navigation, the journalists found candidates from multiple parties appearing in the 'For You' recommendation feed.
After Folha questioned X about the discrepancy, the platform expanded its filter to nearly 2,400 accounts on the evening of 25 August, and no further candidate recommendations were identified thereafter.
Reported impact
Candidates whose profiles were filtered from 16 August onward experienced a disadvantage compared to those who remained recommended during the interval before the filter was corrected.
Index analysis
The failure to implement the electoral fairness rule equally across all candidates created unequal treatment: some candidates had their profiles removed from recommendations from the campaign start, while others continued to be recommended for approximately nine days.
Governance controls
X announced on 14 August it would apply the TSE rule and disclosed the algorithm it would use to block recommendations. The platform did not respond to Folha's questions about the implementation gap until after the correction was made.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.