Transforming Lula into Michael Jackson and Captain America, how his ‘army’ flooded the internet with AI clips and memes to fight ‘algorithm bias’

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election campaign appears to have flooded the internet with old and new AI-generated videos of the man who became Brazil's president one more time, including one in which he dances to Michael Jackson’s famous song "They Don’t Care About Us". While these were primarily humorous memes shared by supporters and circulated organically, it also helped influence recommendation algorithms to push such content amid alleged bias in favour of his rival, who lost. On 25 October, Lula won Brazil’s presidential run-off election, securing a record fourth term after defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula as Michael Jackson

The content originated from individual creators, fan accounts and music fandoms. One video that went viral showed a Brazilian version of the music video, titled “They Don’t Care About Us, versão Lula”. Lula was shown ‘performing’ to Michael Jackson’s song, whose original music video was filmed in Brazil in 1996 under the direction of Spike Lee. The video featured locations in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.

Other AI-generated videos showed Lula dancing to songs by Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, alongside superhero edits and football scenes featuring the president.

Some videos showed Lula and his allies dancing on a stage, mimicking Lady Gaga’s performance in Rio de Janeiro. Others inserted Lula into Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour-style performances, recreated classic Madonna looks or showed him dancing to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”.

Lula was also portrayed as Captain America facing Flávio Bolsonaro as Thanos from the Marvel Superhero Universe. Other clips depicted the Brazilian president as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, or alongside football goal celebrations and stadium scenes.

Not overtly political, but fun to watch: A social media movement against perceived bias

Some supporters and commentators suggested that the trend was an attempt to flood social media platforms such as X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram in response to perceived algorithmic bias. The allegation was that Meta - which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - and X favoured Bolsonaro in their recommendation systems.

Many of these videos were not explicitly political. This may have helped them circulate, go viral and bypass restrictions that might otherwise affect conventional campaign material.

Some official accounts associated with Lula’s campaign shared content that blended real footage with viral trends or moments, while supporters flooded timelines with AI-generated memes.

Lula’s team and allies had accused Meta of algorithmic manipulation

During the election campaign period, the Lula Army had accused Meta and other social media platforms of bias, alleging that they suppressed the reach of Lula-related content and imposed advertising restrictions.

They claimed, for instance, that Meta AI refused to generate images of Lula while allowing images of Bolsonaro. The campaign also alleged that recommendation engines worked differently for the two candidates, favouring Bolsonaro-related content.

On 14 October, Lula’s campaign formally approached Brazil’s Tribunal Superior Eleitoral or TSE, seeking equal treatment on Meta’s platforms.

Meta attributed the problems to technical glitches, anti-fraud measures and neutral rules, denying intentional political interference. On 15 October, the TSE ordered Meta to ensure equal treatment of the candidates and prohibited unequal restrictions on the distribution and recommendation of their content. The court’s preliminary assessment did not establish that the alleged AI restrictions resulted from deliberate political bias.

AI and deepfakes used to build clout and aura

Both camps used AI extensively during the election campaign. Fact-checkers at the Lupa media organisation documented hundreds of suspected AI-generated or manipulated political posts. In one review, Lupa identified 282 AI-generated or altered items among 314 suspicious posts collected between 16 and 26 August.

Deepfakes and synthetic content circulated among both pro- and anti-Lula supporters, prompting electoral authorities to intervene. Brazilian electoral rules require political and electoral content created or manipulated using AI to be clearly labelled. The TSE has also ordered the removal of misleading or improperly labelled material in specific cases.

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