AI Avatar of Jailed Bolsonaro Appears at Son's Campaign Launch, Testing Brazil's 2026 Synthetic-Media Rules

An AI avatar of jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is barred from communicating publicly while serving a 27-year sentence, spoke at his son Flavio's presidential campaign launch. Left-leaning parties have asked Brazil's Superior Electoral Court to investigate, arguing synthetic reproductions of real people to influence voters violate its rulebook — an early test of the rules ahead of October's presidential race.