Petro’s ‘Heil Hitler’ reply to AI-written op-ed sparks outcry

President Gustavo Petro posted the two-word reply ‘Heil Hitler’ on X in response to an op-ed published June 7 in a national newspaper that included content produced with Google’s Gemini AI and that endorsed right‑wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. The post prompted accusations of antisemitism and intensified debate ahead of the June 21 presidential runoff.\n\nThe column credited columnist Felipe Zuleta Lleras and said it was produced from a single Gemini prompt. Zuleta wrote that he ‘endorsed every word.’ The article argued Colombia needs order, authority and economic freedom, praised De la Espriella’s proposed 90‑day security offensive and a plan to reduce the state apparatus by 40%, and described the candidate as the ‘surgeon’ needed to restore public order. The piece included only a brief disclosure from the columnist.\n\nPetro’s reply on X drew immediate criticism from opponents who labeled the message antisemitic and reckless. Some supporters described the post as satirical commentary on the op-ed’s authoritarian tone. Engagement figures for the exchange are visible on X but were not independently verified.\n\nIn the May 31 first round, De la Espriella received 43.7% of the vote and Iván Cepeda, backed by Petro, took 40.9%, a 2.8 percentage‑point gap. Thirteen candidates ran in the first round and none won a majority, setting a two‑week runoff ahead of the June 21 vote.\n\nThe disclosure that a large language model helped produce a politically charged endorsement placed Google’s Gemini at the center of election debate. The episode revived scrutiny of the chatbot after an earlier staged demo and added pressure on publishers and journalists to clarify when automated tools are used in opinion content.\n\nPetro is barred by term limits from running but his public remarks have continued to influence political discussion. Past references to Nazi figures prompted a public response from Germany and a diplomatic protest from Chile after Petro called José Antonio Kast a ‘son of Hitler.’\n\nThe exchange between the president and the AI-assisted op-ed became part of the national conversation during the two-week runoff period, and it raised questions about attribution, transparency and standards for AI-assisted opinion pieces.