Fundo Brasil Puts R$1.6 Million Behind Fight Against Digital Racism

Almost 90% of racist attacks and abuse on Brazilian social media target Black people, and 61.56% of the victims are women. The figures come from the study "Brasil, mostra a sua cara: retrato das vítimas de racismo online e o anonimato de seus agressores" by Aláfia Lab, which found that 66.5% of targets are Black and 24.5% are mixed-race (pardas). Against that backdrop, the Fundo Brasil de Direitos Humanos will distribute R$1.6 million to 19 organizations and research collectives led by Black people across the country, timed to Black Consciousness month, to push for regulation that effectively confronts digital racism.

Why now? A newly elected deputy under attack

Allyne Andrade, executive director of Fundo Brasil, points to the abuse directed at Ana Elisa, a newly elected federal deputy, as evidence of what happens on platforms nationwide.

"As plataformas digitais têm tido um papel central na vida coletiva. São importantes veículos de produção e circulação de informações e de surgimento de novas vozes para o debate público. Mas têm impacto nos períodos eleitorais ao serem instrumentalizadas para manipulação política", Andrade said. She added that the deputy "está sendo atacada apenas pelo fato de ser uma mulher negra eleita defendendo ideias progressistas" — attacked with extreme violence before her term has even begun. For Andrade, the case proves the need for democratic governance of digital media with social participation, which the fund aims to strengthen.

What will the money fund?

A committee selected the 19 grantees from more than 340 proposals submitted nationwide. The projects cover:

• Algorithmic racism (bias embedded in automated decision systems)
• Facial recognition
• Automated credit granting
• Artificial intelligence
• Privacy
• Youth training
• The presence of Black women in technology

Over 20 years, Fundo Brasil has donated R$10 million to roughly 150 anti-racism projects. This is the first time it has focused specifically on digital racism. Hugo Calixto, who heads the fund's anti-racism area, called this form of violence relatively new to public debate. The strategy, he said, is "colocando recursos nas mãos das organizações negras, garantindo autonomia para que construam soluções tecnológicas próprias, tenham voz ativa e poder de decisão no debate sobre a regulação das plataformas".

Pedro Amaral, coordinator of the fund's digital rights area, framed the stakes: "Quando decisões que afetam a vida das pessoas passam a ser mediadas por sistemas algorítmicos, é indispensável disputar quem cria esses sistemas, quais dados eles utilizam e quais desigualdades podem reproduzir."

The grants arrive, however, at a moment of global retreat in racial-equity funding. The Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) reports that in the United States, the share of philanthropic donations directed to racial causes fell from 9.9% in 2021 to 6.8% in 2023, the latest available figure. According to the foundation, that international pullback — combined with weakening corporate commitments to ESG (environmental, social and governance criteria) and diversity — is already felt in Brazil, fueling pressure against inclusion policies and drying up traditional sources of support for human rights organizations.

Which initiatives received funding?

The funded projects span five states:

• Bahia: Aláfia Lab monitors racism on social networks and builds tools to detect racial biases.
• Pernambuco: Pajubá Tech confronts algorithmic racism and transphobia.
• Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Dot investigates racial inequalities in automated credit systems; PretaLab, an initiative of Olabi, works to include and retain Black women in technology.
• Rondônia: C-Partes runs actions with children and adolescents from peripheral areas to combat racial violence online.
• São Paulo: The collective Desvelar promotes social and democratic control of digital technologies from Afro-diasporic perspectives.

The bet behind the R$1.6 million is clear: regulation of digital platforms in Brazil will be shaped by who sits at the table, and Fundo Brasil wants Black-led organizations to hold decision-making power when those rules are written.