AI-generated deepfake videos attribute false salary promise to Bolsonaro
AI-generated deepfake videos circulated on TikTok and Instagram falsely showing Brazilian senator and presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro promising to raise the minimum wage to R$ 3,000. Fact-checkers confirmed the videos were synthetic media with no basis in Bolsonaro's actual campaign proposals.
What happened
Manipulated videos created with artificial intelligence circulated on TikTok and Instagram showing Flávio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian senator and presidential candidate, holding a picanha steak while supposedly promising to raise the minimum wage to R$ 3,000 to allow workers to buy whatever they want.
The Projeto Comprova fact-checking project identified multiple signs of AI generation in the videos, including excessively smooth facial features lacking pores or wrinkles, and some videos displayed platform-generated labels for AI media. A single profile published five synthetic versions with different settings, accumulating approximately 700,000 views and 60,000 likes.
Reported impact
The videos used synthetic content, political division, and emotional appeals combining complex economic issues with attacks on political opponents, exploiting topics like food price inflation to increase political conflict and amplify engagement through encouragement of comments, shares, and likes.
Index analysis
Analysis of Bolsonaro's government proposal contained no mention of raising the minimum wage to R$ 3,000. Verification tools including Backstory and Google Lens confirmed patterns consistent with AI-generated images. Reverse image searches identified different accounts on TikTok and Instagram distributing similar content across multiple scenarios.
Governance controls
Some videos were flagged by the platforms themselves with AI media generation labels. The profile creator did not respond to contact attempts by Projeto Comprova.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.