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Colombia President Gustavo Petro’s Polarized Remark Turns Gemini AI Op-Ed Into Election Firestorm

Colombian President Gustavo Petro replied “Heil Hitler” to an op-ed co-written with Google’s Gemini AI.

The June 7 column in El Espectador endorsed right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella for president. Colombians choose their next leader in a runoff on June 21.

Petro’s “Heil Hitler” Reply to an AI Op-Ed Lights the Fuse

Columnist Felipe Zuleta Lleras stated he built the column from a single Gemini prompt and endorsed every word. The disclosure put Google’s Gemini chatbot at the center of a presidential campaign.

The piece argued Colombia needs order, authority, and economic freedom. Moreover, it praised De la Espriella’s 90-day security offensive and his pledge to cut the state apparatus by 40%.

The text styled the candidate as the surgeon Colombia needs after years of weak public order. However, it offered no disclosure beyond Zuleta’s short opening note.

Petro answered the newspaper’s post on X with the two-word Nazi salute

BeInCrypto could not verify the reply’s engagement figures beyond X’s own counters.

Their reaction echoes a wider fight over AI replacing journalists. It also revives an earlier Gemini controversy over a staged demo video.

Runoff Stakes Sharpen the Backlash

De la Espriella won the May 31 first round with 43.7% of the vote, according to official results. Iván Cepeda, Petro’s chosen successor, trailed with 40.9%, a 2.8-point gap.

Thirteen candidates ran in the first round, and none cleared the 50% bar. Therefore, the two-week runoff sprint now concentrates the country’s full political attention.

Critics branded the president’s reply antisemitic and reckless. Supporters, in contrast, read it as satire against the column’s authoritarian framing.

Petro also has a record of Nazi comparisons. Germany responded publicly to his earlier Hitler remarks. Chile likewise filed a protest after he called José Antonio Kast a “son of Hitler.”

Term limits bar Petro from the ballot, yet his words still shape the race. Each provocation now doubles as a campaign event for both runoff camps.

The coming two weeks will show whether the episode moves votes or fades.

Meanwhile, the affair hands AI publishing a high-profile stress test, as AI reshapes publisher traffic and newsroom standards worldwide.