By Cleber Lourenço
Anyone who searched “Bolsonaro mandou matar o Lula” (”Bolsonaro ordered Lula’s murder”) on GoogleX on Tuesday found something curious: the platform didn’t display its usual AI generated answer. Instead, it linked a news article at the top of the results attacking Federal Deputy André Janones for encouraging people to test that search. When Bolsonaro’s name was swapped out for other names, Google’s AI tool reappeared as normal. This complaint, made buy hundreds of users, was confirmed in tests run by ICL Notícias.
Alvorada Palace, the official residence of Brazil’s Presidents (Photo: public domain)
The text Google replaced its IA generated answer with can be categorized as a negative article which criticizes Deputy Janones’ support for the Lula campaign. Its headline reads: “Janones’ Dirty Trick Spreads Search Linking Bolsonaro to Plot to Kill Lula.” In other words, instead of finding an explanation of the assassination plot investigated by the Federal Police, were fed an article criticizing the campaign that had brought the subject to Google in the first place.
The test came after Janones urged supporters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to run the search. When ICL repeated the query with names like “João” and “Cleber” in place of Bolsonaro, Google’s AI-generated answers appeared normally.
The discrepancy involves a matter that has already been ruled on by the Supreme Court. In 2025 Former President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a criminal organization behind an attempted military coup following his loss in the 2022 election. Among the plans uncovered during the investigation was a detailed plot by a group of army special forces veterans to assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, known as Punhal Verde e Amarelo (Green and Yellow Dagger).
AI Acknowledges Prosecutors’ Accusation, but Opens With a Caveat About Bolsonaro
ICL decided to press further. Instead of using a standard search, it went directly to Google’s AI Mode and asked: “Did Bolsonaro order Lula’s murder?”
This time, the platform responded. But it opened by stating that “there is no proven conviction or direct order from Jair Bolsonaro to kill Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.”
However, it continued that Bolsonaro was charged by Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office of knowing about and consenting to a coup plot that included plans to poison Lula and Alckmin and assassinate Moraes.
The response also presented the former president’s defense, which denies any involvement, and noted criticism of the charges over the claimed lack of evidence for a direct execution order.
The plot to assassinate Lula is not speculation. It was uncovered by the Federal Police, detailed by the Attorney General’s Office and acknowledged by the Federal Supreme Court, which convicted military officers proven to have collaborated in the coup plot with Bolsonaro for preparing to kill Lula, Alckmin and Moraes.
In the formal charges, prosecutors explicitly stated that Bolsonaro knew about the Punhal Verde e Amarelo plan and agreed to it. According to Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet, the plan was presented to then-President Bolsonaro, “who consented to it.”
The case also resulted in convictions for members of what investigators called “Core Group 3” of the coup plot, made up primarily of Army special forces officers. The Supreme Federal Court reviewed evidence showing the group took part in preparations to assassinate officials and prevent the inauguration of the newly elected government.
These are precisely the details that get pushed to the background in Google’s response. The AI tool emphasizes the absence of a proven direct order from Bolsonaro, even though prosecutors pointed to his agreement with the plan, and even though the Supreme Court acknowledged the assassination plots in its rulings that led to convictions.
Google Also Acknowledged Janones’ Campaign
Another detail in the response stood out. Google’s AI Mode itself identified that the search phrase had gained traction because of a digital campaign.
According to Google, the phrase “Bolsonaro mandou matar Lula” became a search trend due to a coordinated strategy among supporters of the current government. It noted that allied lawmakers had worked to encourage the searches and bring the 2022 investigations back into public debate.
Janones launched the campaign on Tuesday, in the middle of the presidential runoff between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.
The goal was to spread information about the coup plot at the exact moment when the former president’s son is running for the presidency.
The test results, though, differed from what one might expect from a search on this topic. In the standard search, the AI tool didn’t appear at all, and the first link ICL found was a piece criticizing Janones. When the AI Mode which failed to appear spontaneously was triggered manually, Google did provide information about the formal charges, but opened its response by emphasizing the absence of a specific conviction for ordering an assassination.
This test alone doesn’t prove that the platform deliberately restricted the search. Google uses a range of criteria to decide when to show AI generated answers and how to rank links, and these results can vary depending on timing and the user.
What remains unclear is why a search involving Bolsonaro and an assassination plot documented by the Federal Police was treated differently than similar searches using other names.
ICL Notícias reached out to Google for clarification on these search results. The company asked for evidence of the behavior described in order to review it. That material has been sent, and the publication is awaiting a response. This article will be updated once Google responds.
This article was originally published in ICL Notícias, was translated by Panamerican Dispatch under express authorization of the editor, and can be read in its original Portuguese here.