Politics · Brazil · 6 hrs ago
Lula campaign accuses Meta of limiting its posts before Brazil runoff
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking re-election in a runoff on October 25 against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
Lula’s campaign says Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, restricted the reach of its posts and made some accounts harder to find.
It says these problems may have benefited Bolsonaro, but has not provided proof of a direct link.
Meta denies the accusations and says many of the reported technical issues were not limited to Brazil or particular accounts.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has given Meta 48 hours to explain its handling of the campaign’s accounts and changes to post and video metrics.
The court also ordered the company to preserve records related to the case.
The campaign has filed a complaint with the electoral court as the candidates prepare for the runoff.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court gave Meta 48 hours on October 10 to explain reported changes to the reach and distribution of posts by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign.
Lula’s campaign accused Meta of restricting its content and favoring posts by his runoff opponent, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
The court ordered Meta to provide account-by-account details of measures taken and explain anomalies in video-view metrics.
Meta denied the allegations, saying the claims were false and that some reported technical problems were not limited to Brazil or specific accounts.
Brazil’s runoff election is scheduled for October 25.
- Who
- Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ordered Meta to respond to allegations by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign.
- What
- Meta has 48 hours to explain reported restrictions and changes in reach and metrics for campaign posts.
- When
- The court issued its order on October 10, 2026.
- Where
- Brazil.
- Why
- Lula’s campaign alleged that Meta restricted its content and favored posts by Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign; Meta denied the allegations.
Lula’s campaign
Meta
Alleged restrictions
Lula’s campaign
The campaign says Meta restricted the delivery and promotion of its posts and affected their reach.
Meta
Meta says the allegations are false and unsupported by the facts.
Effect on the election
Lula’s campaign
The campaign says the reported issues risked giving Flávio Bolsonaro an advantage and disrupting fair competition.
Meta
Meta says it follows electoral rules and is committed to equal conditions on its platforms.
Technical problems
Lula’s campaign
The campaign says the issues were unexplained and raised suspicions of interference.
Meta
Meta says many reported problems were not limited to Brazil or specific accounts.
The evidence supporting the initial petition is largely indirect, consisting of user reports, journalistic reports and references to studies by civil society organizations.
Many of the technical issues mentioned did not affect only Brazil or specific accounts.
We comply with electoral regulations and are committed to a level playing field regarding the use of our platforms.
We have no evidence of that concrete and formal link.
The court’s order required Meta to explain the grounds for disabling Lula’s campaign advertising account on this date.
Brazil held the first round of voting, in which Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of Lula, according to the articles.
The court ordered Meta to explain anomalies in the metrics of videos published on this date.
Lula’s campaign said Meta prevented the president’s Instagram profile from promoting feed posts during this period.
The Superior Electoral Court gave Meta 48 hours to provide technical explanations and account-level information.
- Response deadline
- 48 hours
- Court
- Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE)
- Order date
- October 10, 2026
- Runoff date
- October 25, 2026
- Candidates
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro
- Platforms named
- Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp
Sources
Brazil's Lula accuses social media giant Meta of election interference amid tight run-off campaign
Brazil’s Lula accuses Meta of election interference
Lula acusa a Meta de interferir en elecciones de Brasil; empresa rechaza señalamientos
TSE dá 48h para dona do Instagram explicar suposta redução de alcance de posts de Lula e aliados
Campanha de Lula acusa dona do Instagram e Facebook de interferir em favor de Flávio Bolsonaro
Campanha de Lula denuncia Meta por reduzir alcance de posts petistas e impulsionar Flávio Bolsonaro
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