On July 15, 2025, the National Electoral Chamber upheld the indictment of Mar\u00eda Victoria Villaver, without pretrial detention, for the crime of inducing another to vote through deception, as set in Section 140 of the National Electoral Code.<\/p>\n
The case originated from a complaint was filed by Mario Negri, a pre-candidate for Senator representing Juntos por el Cambio coalition in C\u00f3rdoba, who in 2021 identified the dissemination via Facebook of two digitally manipulated videos (deepfakes) containing false information against him.<\/p>\n
At first instance, the federal judge with electoral jurisdiction indicted Villaver as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of inducing another to vote by deception, and ordered a seizure for AR$150,000,. The Judge found sufficient evidence that she had arranged for the publication of the false advertisements. The defense appealed the decision, arguing that her role at the advertising agency IGNIS M&C S.A. was limited to opening accounts, without involvement in content oversight.<\/p>\n
However, the Court rejected these arguments, holding that access to the account originated from Villaver’s residence, and finding that there was sufficient evidence to classify her conduct as the charged crime.<\/p>\n
In its ruling, the Chamber highlighted the challenge posed by digital platforms and technological advances to the electoral system, warning that these practices constitute new forms of electoral violence that distort democratic debate and must be investigated to safeguard the transparency and integrity of electoral processes.<\/p>\n