Brazil’s Lula accuses Meta of election interference

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused tech giant Meta of interfering in the country's upcoming election. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, is accused of blocking Lula's social media content ahead of the October 25 runoff. Lula is running for a fourth non-consecutive term, facing off against Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula's campaign has pointed to instances where Meta prevented his profile from promoting posts on Instagram and had a post from his official account experience reduced view counts. Additionally, they claim that Lula's profiles vanished from Instagram's search function before the first round of voting, in which Flavio Bolsonaro came out on top. The campaign argues these actions constitute an attempt to interfere in Brazil's electoral process in favor of Flavio Bolsonaro.

The Superior Electoral Court of Brazil has given Meta 48 hours to explain the reported irregularities and provide details on any measures taken against Lula's accounts. However, Meta has denied the allegations, calling them "simply false" and insisting they comply with electoral regulations. Meta stated that many of the technical issues reported affected not just Brazil or specific accounts, but its platforms in general, and that they are committed to a level playing field regarding the use of their platforms.

Lula's campaign has filed a complaint with the electoral court over the alleged social media blocks. Following his first-round win, Lula launched a social media push, using videos to address his online followers.