PF denies Veja; Padilha takes Justice to fight fake news against Lula

Represented by members of the Advocacia Geral da União (AGU), the Minister of Health Alexandre Padilha notified the magazine Veja (publisher April), requesting the publication of the right of response to the matter published on Friday (9) about an alleged testimony of Daniel Vorcaro quoting President Lula. The action questions the disclosure of false news a few days before the second round.

The Federal Police (PF) has already denied the existence of a testimony in which the former banker Daniel Vorcaro gave money to finance a documentary about President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, candidate for re-election.

“The Federal Police clarifies, in relation to the report entitled ‘Vorcaro account that released money for film about Lula for business in the government’, published by the magazine Veja, on Friday (9/10), that Daniel Vorcaro did not give testimony with the content reported in the matter, nor did it deliver to the institution attachments, documents or information with the content described there,” the corporation said in a note.

The extrajudicial notification sent to the magazine reinforces that the allegations that try to associate President Lula and Minister Padilha with alleged financial resources “are false, legally null and lacking any probative grounds, as attested by the official statements of the competent state bodies.” The document lists notes from the PF, the Attorney General's Office and Vorcaro's own defense that dismantle the version carried by the vehicle.

The response also cites notes released by the Federal Police, the Attorney General's Office and the defense of Daniel Vorcaro that contradict the version published by Veja magazine.

The former banker’s lawyer, Daniel Bialski, said he was not aware of the alleged funding. He clarified that he was not at the forefront of Vorcaro’s defense when the proposals for collaboration were presented, but assured there was no new testimony to the PF or any other body dealing with the matter.

Bialski said he had no access to any documents proving such funding and noted that his client had never spoken to him about it.

Suspected of AI tampering and election attack

The Prerogatives group, made up of lawyers from the progressive camp, asked the Federal Police to carry out an expertise in the audio also released by Veja, 16 days before the second round of the presidential elections, in which the former banker implicates Lula.

"There are suspicions that the recording was tampered with, through the assembly of excerpts or the use of artificial intelligence, in order to interfere in the second round of the presidential elections," the group said in a statement.

The Prerogatives adds that there is no information on when, where and under what circumstances the audio would have been recorded. In addition, he stated to the PF that he had received information that the audio would not be authentic or complete, “having been produced by assembling excerpts recorded in different contexts or by voice synthesis, with the purpose of interfering in the electoral process.”

The Prerogativas also warned that the recording lacks basic context 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 deliberate dissemination of disinformation.

 

PF denies existence of testimony involving Vorcaro and Lula