Politics · United States · 3 hrs ago
Groups ask US Congress to investigate Meta’s role in Brazil election
Five civil society groups asked the US Congress to investigate Meta’s role in Brazil’s election.
Their concerns involve Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and the presidential runoff between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.
The groups point to reported problems with content moderation, recommendations and political ads ahead of the vote.
A study cited in their letter found at least 1,613 irregular political ads on Meta platforms in Brazil from July to September, with about R$2 million spent and 171.1 million impressions.
The groups say the findings do not prove deliberate political favoritism, and Meta denies election interference, attributing the reported incidents to technical problems or unintentional errors.
They want lawmakers to seek technical explanations, preserve internal records and consider public hearings, to increase scrutiny of Meta’s election systems.
Five civil-society organizations asked the US Congress to investigate Meta’s conduct during Brazil’s election.
The groups cited reports of content-moderation and distribution problems and irregular political advertising.
They asked lawmakers to seek technical explanations from Meta, preserve internal records and consider public hearings.
The organizations said the reported inconsistencies do not by themselves prove deliberate political favoritism.
Meta denied election interference and said it applies the same rules to all candidates.
- Who
- Five civil-society organizations asked the US Congress to investigate Meta.
- What
- They called for scrutiny of Meta’s conduct during Brazil’s election and requested explanations, preservation of records and possible public hearings.
- When
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
- Where
- Brazil’s election; the request was made to the US Congress.
- Why
- The groups said greater transparency and oversight are needed when a US company’s decisions can affect a foreign election.
Civil-society organizations
Meta
Election conduct
Civil-society organizations
The organizations raised concerns about inconsistent moderation, content recommendations, political advertising and artificial intelligence.
Meta
Meta denied election interference and said it applies the same rules to all candidates.
Reported problems
Civil-society organizations
The groups cited episodes including restrictions affecting Lula’s Instagram accounts and recommendations involving Flávio Bolsonaro.
Meta
Meta attributed the reported episodes to technical failures or unintentional errors.
Interpretation
Civil-society organizations
The organizations said the inconsistencies warrant scrutiny but do not by themselves prove deliberate political favoritism.
Meta
Meta said it applies its policies consistently to all candidates.
Meta ran at least 1,613 irregular political ads in Brazil, according to a survey by NetLab at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Five civil-society organizations asked the US Congress to investigate Meta’s conduct during Brazil’s election.
Brazil’s runoff between President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was scheduled to take place.
- Organizations
- Washington Brazil Office; Washington Office on Latin America; Center for Economic and Policy Research; Amazon Watch; Latin America Working Group
- Political ads
- At least 1,613 irregular ads, according to NetLab
- Ad spending
- About R$2 million
- Ad impressions
- 171.1 million
- Ads’ stated origins
- 98.1% of ads with available origin information indicated the United States
1 source
What people are saying
We are concerned about the possibility that a US-based technology company is not applying its content moderation, advertising, recommendations and artificial intelligence policies consistently, transparently and in compliance with Brazilian law.
The objective of these requests is not to support or oppose any candidate or election result.