Brazil President Lula's Campaign Accuses Meta of Trying to Rig Election

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reelection campaign accused tech giant Meta of election interference on Saturday after his social media content was allegedly blocked on the company's platforms.

The Accusations

Mr. Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term in the October 25 runoff election, where he faces Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. The campaign stated that Meta prevented the president's profile from promoting Instagram feed posts and interrupted view counts to hurt his reach. The statement also claimed that before the first round of voting on October 4—where Flavio Bolsonaro finished first—the profiles of Mr. Lula and other leftist leaders suddenly vanished from Instagram's search function. The campaign argued that these technical issues raise strong suspicions of an attempt to help Mr. Bolsonaro's candidacy.

Court Action And Meta's Reply

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court gave Meta 48 hours on Saturday to clarify if it reduced the reach of the campaign's posts and to explain the reported irregularities. The court ordered Meta to report all measures applied to Mr. Lula's official accounts profile by profile and to explain the metric anomalies. Meta's Brazil office denied the charges, calling them false and unsupported by facts, while stating that the technical issues did not only affect Brazil or specific accounts. Meta also said it complies with electoral regulations and wants a level playing field. Mr. Lula's campaign has filed a formal complaint with the electoral court over the matter, following a social media push where the president—who does not use a mobile phone—addresses online followers through videos.

Context

Electoral courts in major democracies closely monitor digital platforms during election campaigns to prevent unfair advantages or foreign and domestic manipulation. Social media companies frequently face intense scrutiny over how their algorithms handle political content, content moderation, and algorithmic reach during high-stakes political races.