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. Contrary to the understanding of the court of origin, the adulteration of digital content for electoral purposes is sufficient to characterize the irregularity of the expression, regardless of proof of potential to mislead the voter, since the prohibition of art. 9º-C, § 1º, of TSE Resolution nº 23.610/2019 has an objective nature. 6. Granting the special appeal does not require a re-examination of facts and evidence, but merely a legal reclassification of the premises contained in the regional court's decision. 7. Special appeal granted to reinstate the judgment that upheld the claim in the representation and imposed a fine. (Id. 165198449) In the internal appeal, it is alleged (id. 165261643): a) “[...] the challenged single-judge decision went beyond the admissibility review and overturned the regional court's decision by replacing the factual framework established by the TRE/CE (Regional Electoral Court of Ceará) that there was no offense under Article 9-C, which would only be possible through a re-examination of the factual and evidentiary record, prohibited by Precedent No. 24 of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court)” (p. 5); b) the rule in art. 9-C, § 1, of TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019 “aims to curb subtly and imperceptibly manipulated content that disseminates notoriously false information [...] the video in question, as defined by the Regional Court, does not serve to confuse or deceive the electorate, being a piece clearly identifiable as humorous and with crude editing” (p. 7); c) “the Supreme Federal Court, when judging ADI No. 4,451, established the understanding that freedom of expression protects not only truthful or socially acceptable manifestations, but also those that are satirical, exaggerated and humorous” (p. 7); d) “the jurisprudence of the Regional Electoral Courts has consolidated in the understanding that the characterization of deep fake requires that the content present an appearance of verisimilitude, excluding crude or rustic manipulations that do not have the real potential to induce the voter to error” (p. 8); and e) “considering the factual premises established in the TRE/CE ruling, it is evident that this is a simplistic setup, devoid of any potential to mislead the voter, especially due to the use of precarious and easily identifiable resources. [...] Therefore, the material disseminated does not fall under the typicality foreseen in the caput of article 9-C of TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019. It should be noted that the hypotheses described in its paragraphs are conditional upon compliance with the typicality established in the aforementioned caput ” (p. 10). Finally, it is requested that the internal appeal be acknowledged and granted so that the representation's requests are deemed unfounded, excluding the imposed fine or, if the conviction is upheld, that the amount of the fine be reduced, in accordance with the principles of reasonableness and proportionality. Counter-arguments (id. 165299545). This is the report. VOTE MINISTER RICARDO VILLAS BÔAS CUEVA (rapporteur): Madam President, the internal appeal document was filed within the legal deadline by a duly authorized attorney (Dr. Bruna Ferreira de Araújo Bezerra, IDs 164685900 and 164685901). In the appealed decision, the special appeal was granted to overturn the judgment of the TRE/CE (Regional Electoral Court of Ceará) and reinstate the sentence that imposed a fine of R$15,000.00 on the appellant, a candidate for mayor of Fortaleza/CE in the 2024 Elections, for engaging in irregular electoral propaganda by disseminating, on his TikTok profile, a video manipulated by artificial intelligence, with altered images and voices of international public figures, creating the false impression that they were expressing support for his candidacy. The arguments presented in the grounds for the internal appeal are insufficient to justify reversing the challenged decision. According to Article 9-C, § 1, of TSE Resolution No. 23,610/2019, the use of synthetic content generated or manipulated digitally – in audio, video, or a combination of both – intended to create, replace, or alter the image or voice of real or fictitious persons, with the purpose of favoring or harming candidacies, is prohibited in electoral propaganda. See: https://consultaunificadapje.tse.jus.br/consulta-publica-unificada/documento?extensaoArquivo=text/html&path=tse/2026/5/18/17/51/1/86eb5dfd8c3ddd… 3/6