TRE orders to take down a video posted by PT member that portrays Tarcísio as the Chucky doll

The injunction was granted on behalf of the Republican state directory against state deputy Emídio de Souza (PT), coordinator of Fernando Haddad's (PT) government plan, the PT State Directory and the Brazilian Federation of Hope (PT/PCdoB/PV). According to Republicans, the video was published by Emídio on his Instagram profile and reproduced by the party body. The images that were attached to the representation, however, only show the print of the video on the parliamentarian's profile. When contacted by the report, Emídio did not comment.

[Image from the film with the killer Chucky doll]© Disclosure

The PT State Directory says that it presented a defense in the representation "because it understands that the action does not have the conditions to prosper". The PT claims that it did not publish the video on the networks. "Perhaps that is why the Republicans' action did not attach prints or evidence in their initial petition that link the state party to the material, which is even unknown in production." The caption also says that the piece "is classified as satire with no potential to mislead the public" and without asking for votes.

In a statement, Tarcísio's pre-campaign said that the decision confirms that the "electoral debate needs to be carried out with ideas, proposals and comparison of trajectories, not with offensive, degrading pieces or based on personal attacks". "Tarcísio's pre-campaign will continue to activate legal means whenever opponents try to replace public debate with misinformation, aggression or personal ridicule."

In the representation, the Republicans claim that the video is constructed as a “narrative of political terror”. According to the party, the play begins with former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) at a press conference delivering a "gift" to the State of São Paulo: Tarcísio de Freitas, who is represented in the body of the Chucky doll. In the sequence, the image of the governor fused with the character from a horror film appears riding a tricycle in front of an explosion, which is associated with Sabesp, and breaking the window of a car. The video also shows a television report on the rise in feminicides in the state and shows scenes of São Paulo in flames.

When granting the injunction, Domitila Manssur said that the play goes beyond the limits of political criticism by associating Tarcísio "with violence, feminicide, destruction and criminality". According to her, the video is not limited to administrative criticism or debate about public policies and could characterize negative electoral propaganda.

The judge also pointed out signs of the use of synthetic content and artificial intelligence without overt identification of the manipulation. She mentions that Resolution No. 23,610/2019, of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), requires "clear identification of the use of content manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence" and prohibits its use to "harm or favor candidacy", including during the pre-campaign.

"The recent jurisprudence of the Superior Electoral Court expressly reinforces the limits of freedom of expression in the pre-campaign, especially when the communication, through offensive or manipulated content, has the potential to degrade the pre-candidate's image or compromise the informational integrity of the electoral process", wrote the judge.

For the assistant judge, "the elements of conviction gathered so far reveal the plausibility that the contested communication goes beyond the limits of constitutionally protected political criticism, using unidentified synthetic content to construct a narrative potentially capable of degrading the pre-candidate's image before the electorate".

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