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7/28/26, 2:44 PM consultaunificadapje.tse.jus.br/consulta-publica-unificada/documento?extensaoArquivo=text/html&path=tse/2026/5/18/17/51/1/86e… 5. There are no elements in the regional court's decision that would allow for a reduction of the fine. Furthermore, its imposition within legal limits, as in the present case, does not violate the principles of proportionality and reasonableness. Precedents. 6. The reversal of the judgment did not require a re-examination of facts and evidence, but merely a legal re-framing of the premises contained in the regional court's decision. 7. Internal appeal denied. The ministers of the Superior Electoral Court unanimously agree to deny the internal appeal, in accordance with the rapporteur's vote. Brasilia, May 8, 2026. MINISTER RICARDO VILLAS BÔAS CUEVA – RAPPORTEUR REPORT MINISTER RICARDO VILLAS BÔAS CUEVA: Madam President, this is an internal appeal filed by Evandro Sá Barreto Leitão, candidate for mayor of Fortaleza/CE in the 2024 Elections, against a monocratic decision summarized as follows: 2024 ELECTIONS. MAYOR. APPEAL GRANTED. SPECIAL APPEAL. REPRESENTATION. ELECTORAL PROPAGANDA. INTERNET. SOCIAL NETWORK. DIGITAL MANIPULATION. ALTERATION OF IMAGE AND VOICE. DEEPFAKE . ART. 9-C, § 1, OF TSE RESOLUTION NO. 23,610/2019. OBJECTIVE NATURE. CONFIGURATION. FINE. APPLICABILITY. PROVISION. 1. With the grounds for the negative admissibility ruling being overturned, the appeal is granted for analysis of the special appeal. 2. Special appeal filed against a judgment rendered by the TRE/CE (Regional Electoral Court of Ceará), which reversed a lower court's decision to dismiss a fine imposed on the respondent, a candidate for mayor of Fortaleza/CE in the 2024 elections, for engaging in irregular electoral campaigning by disseminating, on his TikTok profile , a video manipulated by artificial intelligence, altering the images and voices of international public figures, creating the false impression that they were expressing support for his candidacy. 3. Pursuant to Article 9-C, § 1, of TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019, "the use of synthetic content in audio, video, or a combination of both formats, generated or manipulated digitally, even with authorization, to create, replace, or alter the image or voice of a living, deceased, or fictitious person ( deep fake ), is prohibited for the purpose of harming or favoring a candidacy." 4. In this case, it can be inferred from the factual framework of the regional court's decision that the respondent disseminated a video in which internationally renowned public figures – Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Tom Cruise, and Cristiano Ronaldo – appear with artificially manipulated speech using artificial intelligence, in order to simulate support for his candidacy, with the pronunciation of the expression "Closed with Leitão". https://consultaunificadapje.tse.jus.br/consulta-publica-unificada/documento?extensaoArquivo=text/html&path=tse/2026/5/18/17/51/1/86eb5dfd8c3ddd… 2/6

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Evandro Sá Barreto Leitão v. André Fernandes de Moura

Judgment

Question Presented: Did defendant Leitao violate Brazilian Electoral Law when he posted and disseminated artificial intelligence generated videos of international celebrities including Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Tom Cruise, and Cristiano Ronaldo endorsing his 2024 mayoral campaign on his TikTok profile?

Alleged Acts: Violating TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019 by utilizing AI deep fake videos for the purpose of harming or favoring a candidacy.

Procedural history: The Trial Court ruled in favor of plaintiff Fernandes and imposed a R$15,000 fine for a violation of TSE Resolution 23.610/2019. Defendant Leitao appealed and the regional Tribunal Regional Eleitoral do Ceara reversed the prior ruling in favor of Leitao. Fernandes appealed to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) who reinstated the original R$ 15,000 fine and reversed the regional court's judgment. Defendant Leitao filed an internal appeal within the TSE which was denied in this final decision.

Summary: During his 2024 mayoral campaign, defendant Leitao utilized artificial intelligence to generate and post deep fake videos on his TikTok profile. These videos utilized artificial intelligence to portray internationally renowned public figures Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Tom Cruise, and Cristiano Ronaldo as supporters of Leitao and using the campaign phrase “Closed with Leitao.” Brazilian election law within TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019 makes it illegal for anyone to use AI generated or manipulated audio or video to harm or favor a candidate. As a result, Deputy Fernandes brought legal action against Leitao for his campaigning on TikTok. Leitao raised the defense that this was clearly satire that wouldn’t deceive anyone since these internationally renowned American figures would not have been involved in a local Brazilian mayoral election.

Conclusion: The Superior Electoral Court denied defendant Leitao’s appeal and reinstated the R$ 15,000 fine for an electoral law violation. The Court found that the plaintiff never had the burden to prove the AI deepfakes had the potential to deceive a reasonable voter. Instead, the fact that Leitao had manufactured, posted, and utilized AI generated media for the purpose of promoting his campaign was sufficient to find Leitao liable. The court found the fine amount reasonable and proportional to the violation of election law.

Legal Issue(s)

Social Media
Technology

Applicable Law(s): TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019, Article 9-C; Law No. 9.504/1997, Article 57-D

Region: Americas

Country: Brazil

Language of Decision

Portuguese

Court: Electoral Court

Election Type: Mayoral

Date of decision: May 8, 2026

Geolocation

Latitude: -15.81027777777778

Longitude: -47.87166666666667

: Geolocation

Link: Brazil Superior Electoral Court Judgment

Primary Documents

Evandro_Sá_Barreto_Leitão_v_André_Fernandes_de_Moura.pdf
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Evandro Sá Barreto Leitão v. André Fernandes de Moura

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