Brazil’s Bolsonaro is barred from this year’s election. Can his AI avatar campaign instead?
Leftist parties say the synthetic video could influence voters and bypass a public communication ban on Jair Bolsonaro.
- On Saturday, an AI-generated avatar of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appeared at the campaign launch for his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, testing how synthetic media might reshape Brazil's October election.
- Former President Jair Bolsonaro remains under house arrest following his conviction for attempting to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to President Luiz Inacio Lula.
- On Sunday, a coalition of center-left and leftist parties filed a petition with the Superior Electoral Court, arguing regulations "ban synthetic content capable of reproducing real people to influence voter intent."
- President Justice Kassio Nunes Marques stopped short of condemning the video, while legal expert Ivar Hartmann at Insper noted that Bolsonaro likely faces no penalties because he did not authorize the AI-generated message.
- The episode highlights broader concerns about AI in politics, with former TSE leader Marco Aurelio Mello stating, "The challenge with artificial intelligence is that it is virtually impossible to control.
9 Articles
9 Articles
At the PL convention, held on Saturday 25th, a video was shown in which a digital version of Jair Bolsonaro appears speaking first person and declaring support for the son's candidacy
'Bolsonaro de IA' sends message to Flavio in launch of candidacy Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), gave 48 hours for the defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro if the use of image and voice of the former president in video generated by Artificial Intelligence (IA), displayed at the national PL convention on Saturday (25). In the recording, the image of the former president claims to be "locked and silenced by …
Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the STF (Supremo Tribunal Federal), has determined that the defense of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) explains in at 48 hours the use of a v deo of the former president made by artificial intelligence and displayed in the convention the electoral of his party, made in sbado (25). Read more (07/28/2026)
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