Raquel Lyra files legal action against suspected bot network in Pernambuco

Pernambuco Governor Raquel Lyra has filed a police report and initiated legal action following a series of digital attacks. The governor reported receiving numerous unsolicited small-value PIX bank transfers from unknown individuals and denounced the circulation of a manipulated video falsely depicting her requesting financial donations from voters.

Lyra’s legal team is filing a precautionary action with the Regional Electoral Court of Pernambuco (TRE-PE) against a suspected network of bot profiles. The filing seeks to preserve technical data to identify the operators and financiers behind the network, which is accused of targeting the governor and promoting the candidacy of opponent João Campos. A technical report cited in the action identified 535 fake profiles, 525 of which were classified as non-organic.

In response, the campaign for João Campos stated that allegations of a “hate cabinet” have been raised by opposition groups since August 2024 and denied that the current legal actions are a new development or a direct accusation of their involvement. The Civil Police of Pernambuco has opened an inquiry to investigate the cybercrimes.