Statement comes after Gilmar Mendes asked Alexandre de Moraes to include the former governor in the fake news investigation
The former governor of Minas Gerais and pre-candidate for President, (New), stated, this Monday (April 20, 2026), that the l is chasing him. The statement comes in response to the minister which to the minister that Zema be investigated in the investigation of
The investigation is based on a puppet video that satirizes the STF’s involvement with the . The publication is part of a series produced by Zema’s team called “The Untouchables”.
In a video published on his official Instagram profile, the pre-candidate who asked the fake news is, in fact, “a free pass to do what they [ministros] well understand”. Zema highlighted: “They are at once the victim, the accuser and the judge, and there is no one who can change that today.”.
The former governor questioned the possibility of satirizing those in power in the country. He compared the current situation with the past. He said that comedians and cartoonists like Charles Chaplin and the program Cassette and Planet questioned power freely, but “those who consider themselves untouchable no longer tolerate any kind of joke”he highlighted.
“The name of the series that my team created is called The Untouchables, and with this attempt to persecute me, they show that they are exactly that. It makes me sad, not that I’m being persecuted, I have peace of mind that I’m on the right side of history”said Zema.
The pre-candidate expressed sadness at seeing “a country that is withering away and that does not guarantee the minimum amount of freedom of expression for its people”. Zema concluded by quoting author George Orwell: “If freedom means anything, it will be, above all, the right to tell other people what they don’t want to hear.”.
Watch the video (3min43s):
In the crime news, Minister Gilmar stated that the former governor had treated him with disdain “not just honor and image” of the STF, but also his own honor. Moraes has already forwarded the case to (Attorney General’s Office).
The video satirizes the decision of Gilmar Mendes who, on February 27, annulled the decision of the which had ordered the breaking of the banking, tax and telematics secrecy of the company Maridth Participações, linked to the Toffoli family.
The minister cites the use of deepfakes and “sophisticated professional editing” to simulate the voices of ministers and a dialogue “which, in addition to being non-existent, has the clear intention of violating the health of this institution of the Republic”in reference to the STF.
“THE UNTOUCHABLES”
The videos published on the former governor’s X and Instagram profiles also mock the Carnival parade about Lula and the developments in the Master case.
The 1st episode, published on February 23, features representations from minister Alexandre de Moraes and the president (PT). The caption accompanying the publication says: “What if there was a series about Brazil’s untouchables? The 1st episode would be something like this.”
Watch (49s):
UNDERSTAND THE FAKE NEWS SURVEY
The investigation of fake news it was on March 14, 2019 under nº 4,781 ( – PDF – 621 kB). The research remains open to this day, it is under secrecythere have already been hundreds of indictees and there is no end date.
The creation of research on fake news It was decided by the then President of the Supreme Court, Dias Toffoli. The objective was diffuse. It aimed to investigate offenses considered criminal to the Court and its members. At the time, there was a dispute between the Supreme Court and the then prosecutors of the Lava Jato operation, led by Deltan Dallagnol. Members of the Public Ministry disagreed with decisions taken by STF ministers and published videos and texts on the internet encouraging the population to put pressure on and defend the Lava Jato investigations – which over the years were annulled in several Judiciary instances, despite the abundance of material evidence against the accused.
Toffoli created the investigation ex officio in March 2019, without being provoked by the Public Ministry. He also decided on his own to appoint, ex officio, minister Alexandre de Moraes as rapporteur. In the ordinance establishing the investigation, Toffoli presented the creation of the investigation in a generic way:
“Considering the existence of fraudulent news (fake news), slanderous denunciations, threats and infractions coated with animus calumniandi, diffamandi and injuriandi, which affect the honorability and security of the Federal Supreme Court, its members and families” [resolve] “initiate an investigation to investigate the facts and corresponding infractions, in all their dimensions”.
Toffoli did not detail any specific facts when opening the investigation into fake news. The minister also did not explain why he did not follow the provisions of article 66 on how rapporteur ministers should be chosen: “Distribution will be done by draw or prevention, using a computerized system, activated automatically, in each class of process.”.
The then Attorney General of the Republic, Raquel Dodge, in July 2019 in favor of a request from the ANPR (National Association of Attorneys of the Republic) to suspend the open investigation into the fake news. In his opinion, Dodge argued that the investigation, as it had been initiated, represented a violation of the constitutional accusatory system and the principles of separation of powers and natural justice.
After much debate, the judgment on the legality of the investigation into fake news it was concluded in June 2020 by the STF itself, just more than 1 year after it was established. By 10 to 1, the Court and should be maintained. Only the then minister Marco Aurélio Mello disagreed. Voting in favor of maintaining the investigation were Edson Fachin (rapporteur of the suspension request), Alexandre de Moraes (investigation rapporteur), Roberto Barroso, Gilmar Mendes, Rosa Weber, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia, Ricardo Lewandowski, Celso de Mello and Dias Toffoli.
Read more about the survey
