Human Rights and Democracy at Risk in the Algorithmic Public Sphere: A Case Study of Brazil’s 2018 and 2022 Presidential Elections

This research investigates how algorithmic infrastructures and social media platforms transform the communicative foundations of democracy and human rights. It argues that the rise of disinformation in the digital public sphere is not merely a matter of false content but a structural phenomenon rooted in historical inequalities, institutional fragilities, and unresolved authoritarian legacies. Building on Jürgen Habermas’s deliberative framework and its critical reinterpretations by Nancy Fraser, Shelton A. Gunaratne, and Gabriele De Angelis, the study examines how algorithmic mediation reshapes deliberation by privileging affect, visibility, and engagement over rational-critical debate. Through a qualitative analysis of Brazil’s 2018 and 2022 presidential elections, the research demonstrates how social media platforms amplified disinformation, undermined electoral integrity, and further eroded public trust in democratic institutions. The findings reveal that where collective memory and institutional legitimacy are fragile, algorithmic environments intensify epistemic instability and facilitate the politicization of truth. By integrating deliberative democratic theory with a human rights framework, the thesis concludes that protecting democracy in the digital age requires reaffirming the interdependence between freedom of expression, access to truthful information, and privacy, while ensuring that counter-disinformation measures remain compatible with democratic principles.