Federal Police debunks Veja; Padilha goes to court over fake news against Lula

Represented by members of the Attorney General's Office of the Union (AGU), Health Minister Alexandre Padilha notified Veja magazine (Editora Abril) on Friday (9), requesting the publication of a right of reply to the article about an alleged statement by Daniel Vorcaro mentioning President Lula, signed by Robson Bonin. The action questions the dissemination of fake news just days before the runoff election. The Federal Police (PF) has already denied the existence of a statement in which former banker Daniel Vorcaro would have given money to finance a documentary about President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a candidate for reelection. "The Federal Police clarifies, regarding the article entitled 'Vorcaro says he released money for a film about Lula for business dealings with the government,' published by Veja magazine this Friday (10/9), that Daniel Vorcaro did not give a statement with the content reported in the article, nor did he deliver to the institution any attachments, documents, or information with the content described therein," the agency said in a statement. The extrajudicial notification sent to the magazine emphasizes that the allegations attempting to associate President Lula and Minister Padilha with alleged financial resources "are false, legally null and void, and lack any evidentiary basis, as attested by the official statements of the competent state agencies." The document lists statements from the Federal Police, the Attorney General's Office of the Union, and Vorcaro's own defense that dismantle the version published by the outlet. The response also cites statements released by the Federal Police, the Attorney General's Office of the Union, and Daniel Vorcaro's defense that contradict the version published by Veja magazine. To Agência Brasil, the former banker's lawyer, Daniel Bialski, said he was unaware of this alleged financing. He clarified that he was not in charge of Vorcaro's defense when the cooperation proposals were presented, but assured that there had been no new statement to the Federal Police or any other agency on the matter. Bialski stated that he had not had access to any document proving such financing and emphasized that his client never spoke to him about it. Suspected AI tampering and electoral attack The Prerrogativas Group, made up of jurists from the progressive field, asked the Federal Police to conduct a forensic examination of the audio also released by Veja, 16 days before the runoff of the presidential elections, in which the former banker implicates Lula. "There are suspicions that the recording may have been tampered with, through the assembly of excerpts or the use of artificial intelligence, with the purpose of interfering in the runoff of the presidential elections," the group said in a statement. Prerrogativas adds that there is no information about when, where, and under what circumstances the audio would have been recorded. Furthermore, it told the Federal Police that it had received information that the audio would not be authentic or intact, "having been produced by assembling excerpts recorded in different contexts or by voice synthesis, with the purpose of interfering in the electoral process." Prerrogativas also warned that the recording lacks basic contextual data (such as date, location, and circumstances) and stressed that, if the fraud or the use of voice synthesis is confirmed, those involved will be held accountable for procedural fraud and electoral crimes for the deliberate dissemination of disinformation.