Electoral Court Investigating Pro-Bolsonaro WhatsApp Mass Messaging Seeks PSL Expenses

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An inspector of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Jorge Mussi, said yesterday, October 21st, that he is considering requesting a copy of PSL‘s accounts and attaching it to the investigation on the mass sending of WhatsApp’s messages.

A story published by the Vortex Media website today claimed that Jair Bolsonaro‘s campaign spending, including mass messaging through WhatsApp, were not included in the then-presidential candidate’s accounts.

Instead, this spending was included in the party’s expenses, which are not usually analyzed until five years have passed. These new documents are part of another case, which has been in the TSE since April this year.

Mussi told UOL that, as the documents are held in court, he could attach them to the electoral judicial investigation (AIJE) actions opened by PT and PDT parties to assess Bolsonaro’s campaign spending.

The TSE precludes the use of automation tools, such as mass messaging triggering programs.

Former family advisor received R$65,000 (US$16,000)

According to the Vortex website, PSL accounting includes payments to a company owned by Érico Filipe de Mello e Costa, although these amounts are not part of Jair Bolsonaro’s expenses during the elections.

He was an advisor to the Bolsonaro family in the Chamber for 14 years. He set up the company Ideia Marketing Digital on the eve of the campaign. He received $65,400 for services that included mass messaging through WhatsApp.

In a report signed one day before the first round of elections, Mello says that the work of “engaging and producing content” in the Bolsonaro campaign would be “intensified” and that WhatsApp would be the priority.

One of the strategies was the use of WhatsApp for mass messaging. Mello said he used a database of supporters obtained from a voluntary registration on the Internet.

Live internet statements made by Bolsonaro were then sent by the messaging app to cell phones. “All content was edited and shared on WhatsApp to support groups throughout Brazil,” Mello described on page 6 of another document disclosed by the website.

Distributing messages is not illegal, but the financing must be clear and stated in the candidate’s financial statements, and only the candidate’s own databases may be used. On the other hand, sending mass message violates WhatsApp’s regulations.

Source: UOL