Lula's team alleges Meta favoured Bolsonaro in Brazil election

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 16:58 · Archive

Lula's lawyers claim Meta interfered in Brazil's presidential election in favour of far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.

Five days after losing the first round of Brazil's presidential election, leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was unable to boost his Instagram posts for almost 24 hours, while his opponent Flávio Bolsonaro could. Lula's lawyers submitted this incident to the electoral court and international observers as evidence that Meta was actively interfering in the election in Bolsonaro's favour. Reports from Lula supporters claiming their content had been removed or had its reach restricted circulated on social media in Brazil, and about a dozen watchdogs and research groups published reports describing what they called 'indications' that Meta may have favoured the senator's campaign.

Meta denied the allegations, calling them 'false and unfounded' and attributing the problems to 'technical incidents' affecting campaigns from different parts of the political spectrum. An electoral court justice found no evidence of deliberate action by the company but ordered it not to give the candidates 'unequal treatment'. When the company failed to resolve the issues affecting Lula within 24 hours, the justice gave Meta another 24 hours to fix the problems. Meta responded by denying any favouritism and saying it had introduced human review to prevent automated restrictions.

The controversy emerged days before the runoff scheduled for the following Sunday, intensifying the electoral battle between the two candidates.

How it is being reported

• Some Brazilians long associated with the left now shift towards Flavio BolsonaroIn the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections, Flavio Bolsonaro got the most votes in 15 electoral districts in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, compared with 9 for Lula. This part of the city, long associated with the left and the social policies of Lula’s Workers’ Party, is now shifting towards former president Jair Bolsonaro’s son.France 24 · 21 Oct, 16:28
• Battle over Meta’s alleged Bolsonaro bias intensifies days before Brazil presidential runoffLula’s supporters suspect tech firm meddling on behalf of US president Donald Trump, who has close ties to Bolsonaro family Five days after his defeat in the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spent almost 24 hours unable to boost his Instagram posts, while his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, could. Lula’s lawyers included the episode in a list of incidents that they submitted to the electoral court and international observers as “evidence” that Meta, Instagram’s owner, was actively trying to interfere in Brazil’s…The Guardian · 21 Oct, 06:00

In this story: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva · Flávio Bolsonaro · Meta · Brazil · Rio de Janeiro

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