(ZENIT News / Florianopolis, 10.13.2026).- Cybercriminals orchestrated a scam in Brazil by generating an AI-created video featuring a priest with both legs amputated, soliciting urgent donations to purchase prosthetics.
The fake «Father Mateus», and other fictional characters in the recording, exhibited video synchronization issues. Reginaldo Jesus Flor, 80, noticed the errors and asked his son, Felipe Zangari, a journalist and theologian, for help. They identified lip-syncing flaws and simulated a «Pix» transfer using the link provided in the campaign, thereby uncovering the suspected scheme.
The video was promoted by the Facebook page «Short Walk,» created on August 18, 2026. It also features 72-year-old «Doña Lourdes» and 14-year-old altar server Enzlo, who make statements supporting the story. Comments noted that there was only a window of a few months to purchase the prosthetics before the risk of permanent muscle atrophy set in in the thighs.
«The way the lips moved wasn’t normal,» explained Zangari. The video and social media posts targeted Catholics. Donations were directed to a corporate account in Florianópolis under the name Gestão Solidar Digital LTDA. Investigators discovered that the activity was linked to the ID of a retiree from Goiás, who was unaware that her personal data had been used.
The practice of using artificial intelligence to fabricate identities — employing images and voice manipulation to recount false events and portray non-existent people, in order to elicit empathy and solicit donations — is on the rise. It affects the Church and many people of good will.
Publicaciones relacionadas:
President Biden Confers on Catholic Priest the Greatest Civil Distinction of the United States
Pope Leo XIV to bishops of the Amazon: no to the worship of nature
This is what is known about the transsexual who murdered Catholic children in an attack inside a church in the USA
Bishops of the USA: Protect the Dignity of Workers as Use of Artificial Intelligence Increases in the Workplace
