Electoral Court orders preservation of digital evidence
The Electoral Court of Minas Gerais ordered Meta and X to keep intact the records of posts made by federal congressman Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG). The decision, signed this Friday (Sept 11, 2026) by the state's Regional Electoral Court, covers content published on Instagram and on the X platform over the course of a week.
The aim is to prevent potential evidence from disappearing before the investigations are concluded.
What is under analysis
The case revolves around material that circulated on the lawmaker's social media accounts and that presented a document attributed to the Federal Police. The authenticity of the paper, however, is disputed: according to the investigations, it is a fake.
The preservation order covers everything published between September 3 and 10, a period in which the content gained reach on both social networks.
What the order means in practice
- The companies are required to keep posts, metadata and interaction records;
- The measure does not require the immediate removal of the content, but prevents it from being deleted;
- Non-compliance may lead to the platforms being held liable.
This type of decision is common in investigations involving the spread of false information, especially during the electoral period, when the speed of sharing makes it harder to reconstruct the facts later.
Preservation as an investigative strategy
By ensuring the data remains stored, the court guarantees that experts and investigators can trace the origin of the document attributed to the Federal Police, identify who first circulated it and measure the real reach of the publication.
The congressman has not yet commented publicly on the decision. Contacted, Meta and X had not said, as of the publication of this report, whether they intend to appeal.