21.10.2026 08:32
Before Brazil's presidential elections, images in which middle-aged men were transformed into young women with artificial intelligence became a trending topic on social media accounts supporting Flávio Bolsonaro. It was determined that the content called "Bolsonaro Bombshell" was viewed millions of times, while it was revealed that some accounts directed their followers to paid adult content.
In Brazil, ahead of the presidential race, AI images linked to Flávio Bolsonaro's election campaign sparked debate. The images, circulating on social media and alleged to show middle-aged men transformed into young women, became a talking point under the name "Bolsonaro Bombshell." However, it has not yet been confirmed that the content was prepared by Bolsonaro's official campaign.
THEY WERE ALLEGEDLY TURNING MEN INTO YOUNG WOMEN
As the election atmosphere in Brazil increasingly heats up, AI content linked to Flávio Bolsonaro's supporters drew attention on social media.
In the posts, it was claimed that middle-aged men were transformed into young women using artificial intelligence. It was alleged that the images were prepared to make the number of women supporting Bolsonaro appear higher than it actually was.
THEY CALLED IT "BOLSONARO BOMBSHELL"
Social media users named the images of women said to have been created with AI "Bolsonaro Bombshell." The posts soon brought about debates over the use of artificial intelligence in political campaigns.
THEY REACHED 47.7 MILLION VIEWS
The October 20 investigation by Brazilian fact-checking organization Agência Lupa revealed the scale of the incident. In two Instagram accounts examined, 28 videos were identified in which AI-generated female characters were shown as if they had participated in Bolsonaro's election events. It was determined that these videos reached a total of 47.7 million views.
THE PURPOSE WAS NOT ONLY POLITICAL SUPPORT
According to the research, the accounts in question were gathering followers through AI characters while also directing them to paid adult content. In some images, virtual female characters were placed in place of people in real event videos.
In BBC Brasil's investigation, 37 social media profiles belonging to AI female characters supporting both Bolsonaro and his rival Lula da Silva were identified.