A video that has been circulating for months on social media features Pelé allegedly making a “prophecy” that Brasil will win the sixth championship from Copa from Mundo with the cup held up by an Santos player. The analysis confirmed: it is false. The Hive Moderation detection tool showed a 92% probability that the audio was manufactured with artificial intelligence.
The content gained new momentum after the Brazilian team was called up on May 18th. Desde March 11, Sharers falsely attribute the statement to Pelé, who died in 2022 at age 82. The misleading captions describe: “Pelé prophesied the national team’s hexa with Neymar” and “Pelé’s prophecy for 2026. In a video decades ago, Pelé made this statement.”
Origem recording and manipulation detected
The investigation traced the original image to an interview by Pelé on the program “Vox Populi”, on Cultura TV, in 1977. A 2012 video on YouTube reprises this material. Cultura TV confirmed that the statement attributed to Pelé in the fake video was not part of the broadcaster’s original content, being “a version that misuses the original content”.
The manipulated video presents typical characteristics of AI production, as identified by Museu Pelé in Santos. The institution highlighted that the material displays “a closed angle, lack of reference to the recording vehicle, missing date and details of the speech that indicate it is false.” A crucial aspect: the image shows Pelé very young, at a time when Brasil was still only a three-time champion, logically making a prophecy about a six-time championship impossible.
Posicionamentos from experts and institutions
José Fornos Rodrigues, Pepito, a businessman who was Pelé’s right-hand man for 5 decades, denied the authenticity of the speech. “Não makes sense to me. Ele didn’t use these types of arguments or narratives in this format. They are not his words”, said the businessman, author of the book “Pelé: The unknown legacy”.
Paulo Monteiro, director of Museu Pelé, declared that “the content does not correspond at all to what would normally be said by him”. The statement emphasized that the material was released in recent days and presents unequivocal characteristics of AI manipulation.
Confederação Brasileira of Futebol (CBF) confirmed that there is no comment by Pelé equivalent to the one mentioned in the viral video in the entity’s collection. Pesquisas in search engines and reliable sources also did not indicate records of this statement attributed to the former player.
Como fake content spreads
The TikTok profile responsible for the earliest dissemination claimed, in its bio, to teach how to create videos with AI. The description mentions: “Videos made with AI with no intention of offending!” Apesar With that caveat, as the video spreads, the manipulation leaves users in doubt about its authenticity.
Comentários reveal the difficulty of audiences in distinguishing AI-generated content:
- “It’s looking too real to be AI”
- “I don’t want to know if it’s AI or not, the important thing is that this video will make those who really have the national team at heart believe in hexa”
- “With so much AI it’s hard to believe videos”
The verification methodology used included the InVID platform to fragment the clip into static frames. A reverse search for Google Lens confirmed that the scenes had already been published in a completely different context — the original 1977 interview without any mention of the six-time championship.