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TSE Upholds R$15,000 Fine Against Pablo Marçal for Calling São Paulo Mayor 'Canalha'

The unanimous TSE ruling reinforces electoral limits on personal attacks in online campaign content.

Overview

  • All justices followed rapporteur Estela Aranha without debate, closing Marçal’s avenues of appeal in this case.
  • The sanction arises from a 2024 TikTok video posted during the São Paulo mayoral race in which Marçal insulted rivals.
  • São Paulo’s regional electoral court had deemed the content injurious to Ricardo Nunes’s honor and cited Marçal’s 5.5 million followers to justify a fine above the statutory minimum.
  • The Superior Electoral Court rejected arguments that only anonymous posts can constitute irregular propaganda or that campaign-period fines lack legal basis.
  • Reporting notes the same video falsely claimed support from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as Marçal now belongs to União Brasil and seeks to overturn separate ineligibility findings.