The deputy Rogerio Correia (PT-MG) was ordered on Wednesday (27) to compensate the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) em R$ 20 mil after photo tampering with artificial intelligence. In the social media publication, made in February this year, the parliamentarian pointed out the proximity and participation of the former head of the Executive in the scandal of Banco Master.
The deputy removed the content from social media, but Bolsonaro’s legal team stated that the deletion “did not remove the damage”, as the circulation of the post had already affected his “honor and image”. On the other hand, Correia defended freedom of expression and said that “the demonstration took place in the context of public debate” about political criticism.
judge Luciana Correa Sette Torres de Oliveira defined that the cause “requires consideration between freedom of expression and personal rights”. According to her, Correia’s defense “did not demonstrate the veracity” of the closeness between Bolsonaro and , as the image had pointed out.
“It is important to highlight that the Constitution protects harsh opinions, severe criticism, political judgments and strong statements on topics of public interest. However, the protection does not reach, with the same intensity, the dissemination of an artificial image that simulates a non-existent concrete fact, especially when accompanied by text capable of associating the person portrayed with serious irregularities. In this case, it is not just an unfavorable opinion, but a visual attribution of a non-existent reality, with the potential to mislead third parties”wrote the judge.
In the action, Bolsonaro’s team asked R$61 thousand in compensation for moral damagesbut Luciana Correa defined the payment of R$20 thousand. For her, the amount requested proved to be higher than necessary as there was no specific proof of the actual number of views, shares or impressions of the publication.
“On the other hand, the seriousness of the visual manipulation by artificial intelligence, the association with a sensitive topic of a sensationalist nature and the dissemination on social media justify conviction at a relevant level”, concluded the judge in the sentence.
A CNN Brazil contacted Rogerio Correia’s team for a position, but has not yet heard back. The space remains open.
