Former president Mauricio Macri on Sunday accused La Libertad Avanza of engaging in dirty campaign tactics ahead of today’s elections in Buenos Aires City in response to the publication of a manipulated video online.
A video, seemingly made online by backers of President Javier Milei’s ruling party, circulated online last night, hours before polls opened.
It falsely claimed that Macri had withdrawn support for his PRO party Silvia Lospennato and endorsed Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni – of Milei’s party – instead.
The low-quality video, apparently created using Artificial Intelligence, features Macri speaking in a stiff, unnatural tone. In the clip, a voice says: “I have made a decision. I want to ask you all to vote for Manuel Adorni.” The fabricated statement concludes with the claim that Adorni is “the one who truly represents the change we need.”
The video was posted by a number of social media accounts that back Milei and his party – in direct violation of Argentina’s electoral silence laws.
The post was shared widely before being flagged as false by several fact-checking organisations.
“There is no such endorsement,” a source from Macri’s inner circle told local media. “He has not recorded any video of this kind. The production quality alone should make that obvious.”
Lospennato, a former PRO deputy, is the candidate officially backed by Macri’s party for the City’s legislature. Her campaign denounced the video as “deliberate disinformation intended to confuse voters on the eve of the election.”
In a statement, PRO demanded an investigation into those responsible. “This is a serious act that must not go unpunished,” the party said, calling on the Judiciary and the National Electoral Directorate to intervene.
Libertad Avanza denied involvement and Milei – while visiting a polling station to cast his voice – later branded Macri a “crybaby.”
– TIMES/PERFIL
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