The federal deputy (MG), from , was ordered to compensate the former president (PL) with R$20,000 for moral damages. The decision was handed down this Wednesday, by the 7th Civil Court of Brasília, and points out that the parliamentarian published on social media an image manipulated by artificial intelligence that associated the former president with the Banco Master scandal. The deputy must also publish a retraction on his official profile.
The publication was made in February this year and, according to the sentence, “unduly” linked Bolsonaro’s image to former banker Daniel Vorcaro. Correia even deleted the image from his networks after the negative repercussion and also released a note in which he acknowledged having used a montage made by AI.
Bolsonaro claimed that the removal “did not remove the damage”. The defense requested the publication of a retraction on social networks, the prohibition of further dissemination of the image “or equivalent content” and, also, the payment of R$61 thousand. The deputy, in turn, justified that his demonstration took place “in the context of public debate” on a topic of “collective interest”.
In her sentence, judge Luciana Correa Sette Torres de Oliveira stated that the Constitution “protects harsh opinions”, but does not achieve the “dissemination of an artificial image that simulates a non-existent concrete fact”. According to the judge, the publication, accompanied by a caption that associated Bolsonaro with “serious irregularities”, could mislead people.
“It is clear that the defendant or any agent – political or civil – could criticize, question, demand explanations, formulate a political judgment or comment on reported facts. What they could not do, without assuming subsequent responsibility, was to publish a realistic montage capable of suggesting a non-existent meeting and, based on it, associate the author’s image with illicit acts of public repercussion”, states the decision.
The amount of compensation was fixed, in addition to observing the “seriousness of the conduct and illicit enrichment”, by the subsequent deletion of the post and public clarification by the deputy. Luciana stated that the money requested by Bolsonaro’s defense was “higher than necessary”, with R$20,000 being “a sufficient amount to compensate for the injury, recognize the seriousness of the conduct and discourage repetition”.
Continues after advertising
Correia must also publish the public retraction on the same social network profile where he published the manipulated image. The publication, according to the sentence, must be available for at least 48 hours, under penalty of a daily fine of R$5,000 in case of non-compliance.
