Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's party plans to file a complaint against Meta with the Organisation of American States, alleging election interference. Meta denies the claims.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s party plans to file a complaint against Meta with the Organisation of American States (OAS), alleging election interference, his campaign said Wednesday. The party accuses Meta of restricting Lula’s online content ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Meta denies the allegations.
The leftist leader is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term in the runoff, where he will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. His party maintains that Meta is harming his campaign by restricting his online content.
Party Communications Secretary Eden Valadares told reporters, "It's time to denounce (Meta) before the international community, starting with the OAS," adding that Lula himself had ordered the move.
The campaign has cited specific technical issues as evidence of interference. According to the campaign, Meta in recent days "prevented President Lula's profile from promoting Instagram feed posts," while a post from his official account "experienced an interruption in view counts, which affected its reach."
Additionally, the campaign stated that prior to the first round of voting on October 4, in which Flavio Bolsonaro finished first, the profiles of Lula and other leftist leaders "suddenly disappeared from Instagram's search function."
Meta’s Brazil office denied the charges, calling them "simply false" and "not supported by the facts."
In an email to AFP, the company stated, "Many of the technical issues mentioned did not affect only Brazil or specific accounts." Meta added, "We comply with electoral regulations and are committed to a level playing field regarding the use of our platforms."
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) previously gave Meta 48 hours to clarify whether it reduced the reach of posts by Lula's campaign and to explain the reported irregularities. The TSE ordered Meta to "report, profile by profile, all the measures applied" to "Lula's official accounts" and to "explain the anomalies in the metrics" of the videos.
Lula's campaign has already filed a complaint with the electoral court over the alleged social media blocks. The incumbent's campaign also called a meeting with international election observers on Thursday to discuss the alleged interference.
The dispute highlights tensions between the Brazilian government and major technology platforms during a critical election period. Lula has claimed that the United States is trying to interfere in the elections in favor of Flavio Bolsonaro, whose father is an ally of US President Donald Trump. Following the first round of voting, Lula, who does not use a mobile phone, launched a social media push that includes videos of him addressing his online followers.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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