Flávio Bolsonaro Campaign Files Complaint with Electoral Court Over Fake Social Media Profiles
Senator Rogério Marinho, coordinator of Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential pre-campaign, announced on Monday, February 20th, that a formal complaint has been filed with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The complaint aims to address and investigate fake social media profiles allegedly used to attack pre-candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. Marinho stated that the primary targets of these attacks include Flávio Bolsonaro himself, as well as pre-candidates for re-election to the governorships of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, and Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello. According to Marinho, the campaign has identified approximately 20,000 fake profiles suspected of being involved in a scheme to spend around R$ 20 million to promote defamatory content against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Marinho met with TSE President, Minister Kassio Nunes Marques, to request an immediate injunction to remove these fake profiles from circulation. The campaign seeks electoral justice to investigate and identify the financiers behind what they term an "assault on democracy." Lawyer Maria Claudia Bucchianeri, part of the pre-campaign's legal team, explained that the party (PL) previously identified small profiles with few followers spending significant amounts. These profiles, allegedly created with fake CPF numbers, are used to boost defamatory posts, reaching a wider audience before being deleted to avoid leaving a trace. Bucchianeri noted that these profiles make substantial payments for distribution and then disappear, only to be replaced by similar ones, often originating from the same area code (041, Paraná). The legal team has requested a comprehensive disclosure of account information from Meta, including details on registered contractors and advertisers, to ascertain the origin of the funds and the identity of those behind the profiles. Bucchianeri also mentioned that a small number of these accounts appear to be promoting the current government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The complaint highlights a sophisticated digital campaign potentially involving coordinated disinformation and financial manipulation to influence electoral discourse. The alleged use of fake profiles, substantial financial outlays, and rapid deletion of accounts suggests an organized effort to bypass platform regulations and obscure the true source of the political messaging. This situation underscores the ongoing challenge for electoral bodies to monitor and regulate online political advertising, particularly concerning the anonymity and financial backing of such operations. Future electoral integrity may depend on enhanced cross-platform cooperation and robust digital forensics to trace the origins of influence campaigns and ensure transparency in political communication, especially as AI-powered tools could further automate and scale such activities.
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