Brazil’s Supreme Court has officially launched an investigation into alleged foreign funding of Flávio Bolsonaro and the manipulation of social media algorithms during the country’s recent elections. The judicial probe is actively trying to determine if foreign money was illegally pumped into online platforms to artificially boost specific political content, spread misinformation, and silence political opponents.
⚡️🇧🇷 — Brazil’s Supreme Court orders investigation into alleged foreign funding of Flávio Bolsonaro and social media algorithm manipulation during elections.
♦️Rumors : Many suspect that Flávio Bolsonaro was trying to flee to the U.S via Private plane or land Border via Argentina.
— THE TRADESMAN 📈 (@The_Tradesman1) October 28, 2026
Online commentators expressed anger over the alleged interference. X user @ImKrisses pointed to the disparity in online visibility, claiming a congressman received more views than Taylor Swift and Brazil’s population. At the same time, Lula’s Instagram profile was difficult to find, despite the spread of false information and hate.
@BRICSinfo A congressman was getting more views than Taylor Swift, more views than the number of people Brazil has, spreading lies and hate, while you couldn’t even find Lula’s profile on Instagram
— Krisses (@ImKrisses) October 27, 2026
User SCullig linked the allegations to what they described as a pattern of US intervention in South American elections in support of far-right governments.
@BRICSinfo Whenever the US directly intervenes in South American elections, it’s always for right-wing fascist governments
— Sebastian Alexander (@SCullig) October 27, 2026
Meanwhile, user african_heart12A cited reports in Argentine media alleging that Flávio tried to flee through Argentina, with a private jet reportedly waiting to take him to Miami, and called on Lula to act against those allegedly involved in US election interference.
@BRICSinfo Argentinian media report that Flavio tried to run away via Argentina. Apparently a private jet was waiting for him to take him to Miami🤷♂️ Lula needs to crack down on all those who worked with the US to influence the Brazilian elections. He also needs to crack down on CIA agents
— 🔻Proudly African🔻 (@african_heart12) October 27, 2026
READ ALSO: Brazilian Olympic Committee Partners With Cardano to Bring Blockchain and AI to Sports.
Can crypto be used to buy political power?
Outside groups and wealthy individuals use cryptocurrency because traditional banks track and block suspicious money transfers. Digital money moves across borders instantly without a bank checking the sender’s identity. This lets anyone secretly fund political campaigns and bypass a country’s election laws.
For example, foreign groups use crypto to secretly pay for fake internet attention. During the 2016 US election, Russian agents used Bitcoin to buy computer servers and website names to run hundreds of fake social media accounts. Because they paid directly in Bitcoin, the US banking system never saw the money moving.
Crypto can also hide the true source of direct campaign donations. In the 2022 US elections, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly spent over $100 million to influence lawmakers. To hide the money, he gave his workers digital tokens. His workers sold the tokens for regular US dollars and handed that cash directly to politicians. Because the money started as untracked crypto, election watchdogs didn’t catch the crime until FTX went bankrupt.
Using crypto to influence politics may push government to target regular crypto users
If foreign groups keep using crypto to interfere in elections, governments will punish regular crypto users.
Governments may pass new laws making it illegal to hold crypto on a private phone or a USB drive. They will force every citizen to keep their digital money inside government-approved exchanges, like Binance or Coinbase. During an election year, the government will require these exchanges to send an automatic report to the police every time a user moves a large amount of money. Intelligence agencies will get direct access to user accounts to scan for political spending.
An example of this happened in Canada in 2022 during the trucker protests. When people worldwide sent millions of dollars in Bitcoin to support the protesting truck drivers, the Canadian government panicked over unregulated political funding. The government used emergency powers to force crypto exchanges to blacklist and freeze the digital wallets of people connected to the protests.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Finance Minister Dario Durigan announced that the government will offer specialized business loans to help companies manage the financial strain of two massive economic overhauls.
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