Some people read the morning news over coffee. Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Banco Master, preferred a different role: helping decide what went on the menu. Messages extracted by Brazil's Federal Police from the former banker's cellphone show he built an influence network over news websites through sponsorships and investments from companies linked to him, according to a Folha de S.Paulo report published on Thursday (15).
According to the reporting by Renata Agostini and Tiago Dantas, the money came with direct interference in the editorial decisions of the newsrooms: Vorcaro indicated what should be published and in what tone. The conversations point to influence over content from business site Brazil Journal, magazine IstoÉ and the portals PlatôBR, DCM and CartaCapital, the last three known for left-leaning coverage.
The middleman
The central figure in the scheme is Flávio Carneiro, Vorcaro's image adviser and owner of Foone, a company that is a partner in PlatôBR and invests in businesses related to Brazil Journal, as Vero Notícias detailed. In March 2025, two days after the announcement of Master's sale to BRB, the state-owned bank of Brasília, Carneiro agreed with the banker to send articles before publication. "I will send you the drafts, you review them and we publish," he wrote, according to Folha.
In August 2025, Vero reports based on UOL's material, Vorcaro asked PlatôBR to publish criticism of Ricardo Cappelli, then a pre-candidate for governor of the Federal District. Carneiro replied that he would align the coverage. Contacted by reporters, he had not responded by the time the stories were published.
The revelation is the latest chapter in a string of Vorcaro messages surfacing in recent weeks as part of the Federal Police investigation into Banco Master, now under liquidation. Earlier leaks had already exposed the banker's closeness to Frederic Kachar, then a top executive at Grupo Globo, Brazil's largest media group, who was fired after the conversations became public, as UOL reported.
For readers who want the full picture, the complete report, with screenshots of the conversations, is available on Folha's website and on UOL (both in Portuguese). The outlets named in the messages remain online, each with its own version of the story to tell.