The Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ) has created a detailed protocol to combat irregular electoral propaganda on the internet and disinformation during the 2026 elections. The new structure provides for digital monitoring, specialized technical analysis, and an accelerated process for removing content considered illegal on social media.
The protocol provides for integration with security and intelligence agencies, such as the Federal Police, Civil Police, and ABIN (Brazilian Intelligence Agency). In addition to external complaints, the unit itself may initiate proceedings based on social media monitoring conducted by its technical team.
The measure transforms the so-called NFPE-Digital, a specialized unit of the court, into a kind of electoral intelligence center to act against fake news, deepfakes, irregular boosting of campaigns, and coordinated attacks against candidates and electoral institutions.
The goal is to accelerate the response of the Electoral Court in the face of the speed at which false content spreads on digital platforms.
"Expressway" for serious cases
One of the main points of the protocol is the creation of an expedited procedure for cases considered high-risk, such as:
- Deepfakes produced using artificial intelligence;
- mass disinformation campaigns;
- attacks on the electoral system;
- Rapid viral spread of false content;
- publications with the potential to cause irreparable harm during the campaign.
In these situations, the process may be given top priority to allow for quick decisions regarding content removal.
The core team will consist of multidisciplinary experts in technology, digital intelligence, forensics, communication, and legal analysis.
Among the expected functions are:
- identification of robots and artificial networks;
- Tracking of coordinated campaigns;
- deepfake analysis;
- Preservation of digital evidence;
- information verification;
- Preparation of technical reports for electoral judges.
The act that regulates the action also provides for the participation of journalists in the fact-checking stage, with support from agencies specializing in fact-checking.
WhatsApp, Pardal, and police intelligence.
Complaints can reach the TRE-RJ (Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro) through various channels, including:
- Pardal app;
- Official WhatsApp number of the court;
- institutional email;
- Ombudsman;
- electronic judicial system;
- in-person complaints.
"Bulletproof" digital evidence
The new regulation creates specific rules for preserving digital evidence with technical and legal rigor.
The court anticipates:
- forensic capture of content;
- Date, time, and URL record;
- Generation of cryptographic authentication codes;
- digital chain of custody;
- Secure storage of evidence.
In practice, this allows evidence to be preserved even if the content is later deleted from social media.
Platforms will be able to receive orders directly.
Following the technical analysis, the core team will produce reports and proposed decisions for the judges. Among the measures that judges may order are the removal of content; suspension of boosted posts; direct notification to platforms; referral of the case to the Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office; and the opening of investigations.
The idea is to reduce the time between reporting the incident and the removal of the content from the internet.
After the decisions are carried out, the cases may be referred to the Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office for the initiation of legal proceedings, criminal investigations, and other measures.
The new protocol also reinforces the Electoral Court's concern about the growing use of artificial intelligence and digital manipulation in the 2026 campaigns.
With this regulation, the TRE-RJ (Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro) expands its digital oversight structure and institutionalizes a model for permanent action against electoral disinformation.
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