A 49-year-old bricklayer in Brazil sold all of his belongings and traveled more than 1,200 miles to meet a woman he believed he was going to marry, only to learn she had never existed at all — she was an AI-generated persona run by a social media account chasing online engagement.
Edimar Martins told TV Mirante he first encountered a social media account under the name Jéssica Oliveria back in 2020. He said he never suspected he was communicating with an artificially generated character, and last week he decided it was finally time to meet her in person.
On Oct. 9, Martins, who lives in the northeastern state of Maranhão, sold his personal belongings to pay for a bus ticket to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil.
“I sold all my things, I got rid of everything,” he said. “That’s how you get discouraged, who wouldn’t get discouraged?”
Martins arrived in Belo Horizonte on Oct. 11 but could not find any trace of the woman he had traveled to meet.
“I went to the radio station there, and they said no, that’s fake news, that woman doesn’t exist,” he said.
With no money left, Martins went to Belo Horizonte City Hall, where he told a social worker he had made the trip because he was lonely and hoping to find a relationship. He was given assistance to return home.
“It only brings sadness, discouragement, depression. Many people wanted to find a relationship, so I came,” he said.
An AI character built for engagement
The TikTok account behind the persona, @JessicaFazendeira, has roughly 300,000 followers. In a now-deleted video, the AI-generated character said she was looking for a man she could bring to live on her farm and support financially.
“I really want to support you, I want you to come to my farm and never work again in your life,” the character said in the clip.
After news of Martins’ journey spread, the person operating the account posted a statement on Wednesday confirming the character was artificially generated and denying any direct contact with Martins or anyone else.
“I came here to state the obvious: I am made of artificial intelligence,” the statement said. “I have never spoken to anyone with this profile. The intention was to gain engagement for sale. I never spoke directly to anyone, much less took anyone to Belo Horizonte. It was a surprise to me to see what is happening.”
A separate message posted in connection with the account, written in capital letters, insisted the profile had been built purely to gain engagement and sales on TikTok Shop and had never actually messaged with any individual claiming otherwise.
Martins is now staying with a family member back home. Despite the ordeal, he said he has not given up on finding love and plans to return to Belo Horizonte.
“I didn’t find her, but I’ll find another one, and it will be in the same place I went, and I’ll go again,” he said.
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