Brazilian physician and media personality Drauzio Varella appears in nearly 3,000 fraudulent online advertisements that misuse his image to promote bogus medical treatments, according to a study by the Internet and Social Media Studies Laboratory (NetLab) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The research, covering August 2025 to July 2026, identified almost 8,000 misleading ads featuring various Brazilian celebrities. The ads were gathered from publicly available online platforms and are part of a broader pattern of celebrity‑based fraud that exploits public trust in well‑known figures.
NetLab, led by Professor Marie Santini, found that Varella’s name and likeness were used in 2,950 of the collected advertisements. The majority of these fake ads promoted supposed cures for chronic conditions such as diabetes and offered facial rejuvenation treatments. The laboratory said the ads often direct users to websites that sell unverified products or request personal information, constituting a clear risk to consumers.
Other celebrities affected
The study also highlighted other frequent victims of the scheme, including digital influencer Vivi Noronha, actress Mel Maia, sertanejo singers Simaria and Ana Castela, and influencer Virginia Fonseca, who is known as the girlfriend of footballer Vinícius Júnior. NetLab observed a growing trend of deepfake videos that lead to false pornographic content, citing 198 misleading ads with the image of actress Paolla Oliveira detected in just over three months.
Official response
Deepfakes — AI‑generated images or videos that depict real people saying or doing things they never did — have become easier to produce and distribute as the underlying software becomes more accessible. The NetLab report warns that this technology is increasingly used for scams, political disinformation and non‑consensual pornography, raising concerns among regulators and platform operators.
In early August 2026, André Mendonça, vice‑president of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the country’s electoral authority, announced a package of measures to curb the electoral use of deepfakes. While the proposal focuses on elections, experts consulted by NetLab said the same tools are behind the celebrity‑focused fraud uncovered in the study, suggesting a need for broader safeguards.
According to the O Globo column, the universe of celebrities is very familiar with this digital subterfuge, indicating that many public figures have encountered similar misuse of their image.
The findings underscore the significant challenges posed by synthetic media in Brazil’s digital landscape, where the rapid spread of false advertisements can undermine consumer confidence and facilitate financial harm. The article is based on single‑source reporting from O Globo.