Paulo Figueiredo, a right-wing influencer and podcast host who acts as an unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family in the United States, said the controversial wording resulted from an error involving multiple drafts of the document, Reuters reported.
Bolsonaro sparked controversy on Wednesday when he claimed that Sunday’s presidential runoff, which he lost to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than 4 million votes, had been marred by fraud. He offered no evidence to support the allegation.
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About an hour after publishing the letter on social media, Bolsonaro deleted it and shared a revised version, replacing the phrase “president-elect” with “leader of Brazil.”
Figueiredo, who had initially shared the letter with journalists, said the document had undergone several revisions and incorporated contributions from multiple people. According to him, Bolsonaro’s younger brother, former congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, had used ChatGPT to help finalize the text.
Figueiredo said the chatbot had incorporated an earlier draft that described Flavio Bolsonaro as the country’s rightful president-elect. The document also reportedly contained an outdated version of Brazil’s coat of arms.
The errors were noticed only after the letter had been distributed to the press, Figueiredo said in a post on X.
He added that Bolsonaro ultimately chose the term “leader” for what he described as legal and moral reasons, playing down the revisions as a minor issue.
However, Figueiredo maintained that the senator’s position on the election had not changed.
He said Bolsonaro continued to regard the election as illegitimate, rejected its outcome and intended to keep fighting to restore democracy in Brazil.
OpenAI and Bolsonaro’s press officers did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The senator’s claim has struggled to gain support from prominent figures in his political camp, according to Reuters, leaving him increasingly isolated. Lula’s victory has been recognized by Brazil’s federal electoral court, international leaders, election observers and Bolsonaro’s own party.
Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday after leaving Brazil. He had refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation, in which he denies wrongdoing.
