In brief
Lula has demanded the disqualification of Flavio Bolsonaro over allegations of Meta bias, while Bolsonaro counters with charges of government influence via WhatsApp. The petitions were filed with Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, raising questions over digital campaigning ahead of the run‑off. A UN report cited temporary account suspensions and unequal reach as evidence of bias. Both campaigns accuse the tech giant of giving one side an advantage in the lead‑up to Sunday’s decisive vote.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has filed a petition with the Superior Electoral Court demanding the disqualification of his right‑wing rival, former Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, ahead of Sunday’s run‑off election.
Lula’s campaign alleges that Meta – the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – deliberately limited content that favoured Bolsonaro to help the incumbent keep a lead. It claims the tech giant lowered engagement, restricted Instagram posts and deprived Bolsonaro’s accounts of visibility, creating an uneven playing field.
In response, Bolsonaro filed a separate petition seeking to disqualify Lula over allegations that government officials used WhatsApp to mass‑distribute official messages, turning the platform into a campaign tool.
Meta has denied taking action to favour one side and insists it will comply with a Brazilian court order to treat both candidates equally. The company maintains that it is “not a political actor” and says any moderation decisions are based on community standards.
The disputes come after a United Nations report, led by the special rapporteur on freedom of expression, warned that “temporary interruptions of one candidate’s campaign account; differences in audience engagement, user feeds, view counts and reach; restrictions on that campaign’s Instagram posts” indicated an unequal playing field.
The report cited these incidents as evidence that accounts linked to one side of the race were disproportionately curtailed, calling for Meta to adopt clearer rules for political content during elections.
Users have also claimed that Meta’s artificial intelligence tools failed to generate images related to Lula, further fueling accusations of bias.
Brazil’s 159 million registered voters will head to the polls on Sunday as the nation watches whether social media intervention will influence the final outcome of the presidency. Bolsonaro beat Lula in the first round by a narrow margin but remains short of the 50% of valid votes needed for an outright win.
Pro‑Lula supporters gathered outside Meta’s São Paulo office on Monday, accusing the company of interfering in the electoral process, while Bolsonaro’s campaign insists that government data was used to target voters on WhatsApp.
Opinion polls suggest the run‑off will be very close, with little separating the two candidates in the final tally.
