Brazil’s ruling socialist Workers’ Party (PT) on Sunday filed a complaint before the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) over an AI-generated video featuring the likeness of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The PT reportedly argued to STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes that the video constitutes a violation of the restrictions imposed by the judge on Jair Bolsonaro that legally prevent the former president from issuing messages of a “political-electoral” nature.
A similar complaint was submitted by the ruling leftist party on Monday against Brazilian Senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro before the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE). Neither the STF nor the TSE have publicly commented on the complaints at press time.
The Liberal Party held its national convention this weekend in the city of São Paulo. At the event, PL proclaimed Jair Bolsonaro’s oldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as the party’s candidate for the upcoming October presidential election. Sen. Bolsonaro will run against radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth term.
Argentine President Javier Milei participated in the convention, endorsing Flávio Bolsonaro and condemning Lula as a “thief,” “convict,” and “socialist trash.”
During the PL convention, an Artificial Intelligence-generated video featuring the likeness of Jair Bolsonaro was shown to all attendees. In the roughly minute-long video, the AI-generated Bolsonaro clarifies that it is not the real Jair Bolsonaro who is speaking, but rather, a “simulation” that resembles the former president’s likeness and voice. The “AI-Bolsonaro” proclaims that Brazil has a future with Flávio Bolsonaro as president.
“As everyone here knows, I am imprisoned and silenced by an unjust and arbitrary decision, based on something I never did. But I assure you that no imprisonment will silence the spirit of hope we have awakened,” the AI avatar resembling the former president is heard saying in Portuguese.
“No imprisonment will silence the millions of Brazilians who believe in our country. That is why I ask that you welcome with open arms the person I have chosen to replace me,” the video continued. “flesh of my flesh, my son Flávio, come with faith. Brazil has a future, and that future is Flávio Bolsonaro as President.”
According to Metrópoles, the video was shown during Flávio Bolsonaro’s acceptance speech. Per the outlet, the event’s presenter interrupted the Brazilian Senator and said he had a “surprise” for him before the video was shown.
Several Brazilian outlets published full copies of the AI-generated video shown at the PL national convention on their respective social media accounts.
According to Jovem Pan, the ruling socialist party argued in the complaint filed at the STF that the video represents a “political-electoral demonstration” attributable to Jair Bolsonaro, using a simulation of his image and voice.
PT reportedly affirmed that, by describing Bolsonaro’s imprisonment as “unjust and arbitrary,” the AI-generated video should be considered “electoral” content and is thus covered by the prohibitions imposed on the former president “regardless of the medium used.”
Former President Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence on “crimes against democracy” charges. Bolsonaro was transferred from his prison cell to his residence in Brasília in March and placed under a strict house arrest by order of STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
As per the terms imposed by de Moraes, Jair Bolsonaro is legally prohibited from utilizing any kind of computer, telephone, or internet-connected device. The former president is also prohibited from utilizing social media platforms and from being showcased in social media accounts belonging to third persons.
As of last week, de Moraes banned Bolsonaro from receiving any visit of a “political-electoral purpose” until after the October 2026 general elections. The Brazilian justice issued the new prohibition after Flávio Bolsonaro published a handwritten letter signed by the former president calling for his supporters to rally around his son in the upcoming race. The new prohibition prevented President Javier Milei from being able to visit Jair Bolsonaro during his recent trip to Brazil.
The PT reportedly compared the contents of the AI-generated video with Bolsonaro’s letter and claimed that it is a “worse” situation, deeming it an “official campaign act, transmitted en masse with the use of artificial intelligence to reproduce the likeness and voice of the former president.”
The AI-generated video shown at the PL national convention is not the first time that artificial intelligence has been used to resemble the likeness of an imprisoned former head of state. As Breitbart News reported in 2024, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, founded by Islamist former Prime Minister Imran Khan, published a video bearing Khan’s likeness to celebrate the party’s victory in that year’s elections.
Khan, who has been imprisoned since 2023, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on corruption charges alongside his wife, Burshra Bibi. As per the terms of his original 2023 imprisonment, the former Pakistani prime minister is legally barred from issuing political speeches. The Pakistani government has not taken any sweeping action at press time to crack down on Imran Khan AI images at press time.
Former Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, another of Jair Bolsonaro’s sons, claimed in a Saturday social media post that the AI-generated video bearing his father’s likeness is “the closest way to overcome the current censorship imposed in Brazil.”
Eduardo Bolsonaro fled Brazil in 2025 and requested political asylum in the United States on the grounds that he is the target of an alleged persecution campaign led by Alexandre de Moraes. An STF panel led by de Moraes convicted Eduardo Bolsonaro in June on “coercion” charges for allegedly “courting U.S.” interference in favor of his father.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.