Jornal O Globo - September 18, 2024
A survey by Netlab, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), identified 108 paid advertisements promoting the PRTB candidate for mayor of São Paulo, Pablo Marçal, which circulated on TikTok between May 1 and September 16 and totaled more than 1 million views. The information was published by the newspaper "Folha de S.Paulo" and confirmed by O GLOBO. The platform reported that all of the advertisements were removed and that "most" circulated only outside of Brazil.
The advertisements reproduced statements by the former coach promising money to followers who shared cuts of his lectures and interviews, and some even made explicit requests to vote for the candidate. At the end of August, the Electoral Court suspended Marçal's profiles on social media after considering, in a preliminary ruling, that payment for the production of cuts could constitute abuse of economic power and improper use of the media. The candidate has denied that he or his companies are paying for this type of activity.
According to Netlab director Marie Santini, just as Marçal's ads can be contracted in Brazil to be broadcast in other territories, it is possible that Brazilian users can also be attracted to advertisements contracted abroad. Therefore, they are far from the reach of the Brazilian Electoral Court.
— Today, we do not know the size of the problem. We are only seeing a small part of it. It is essential to establish rules so that platforms have ad libraries so that campaigns can be audited. We see that they are not capable of preventing irregular ads; a minimum of transparency is needed so that society can evaluate, have data, and be able to create solutions — she states.
Comments