{
  "id": 12734710,
  "title": "Lula, the president without a cellphone, turns to selfies to woo voters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/lula-the-president-without-a-cellphone-turns-to-selfies-to-woo-voters",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T22:47:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1550120/lula-president-without-cellphone-turns-selfies-woo-voters"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rio de Janeiro: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, who does not own a cellphone, has embraced selfies to appeal to voters as he faces a tough re-election campaign. At 80 years old, Lula recorded and shared his first selfie video on social media, marking a shift in his campaign strategy. He attributed his second-place finish behind right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Sunday to people constantly pressuring him to take a selfie, a request he had previously resisted. Lula's campaign is heavily focused on social media, an area traditionally dominated by the right in Brazil. In the video posted on Instagram and TikTok, Lula encouraged supporters to join him in the streets and engage directly with people. Lula's rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, has been using spontaneous selfie videos on social media for months. Lula called on leftist influencers, like 21-year-old Ana Elisa Santos Silva, who won a federal deputy seat, to advise his campaign. Ana Elisa said they worked to get Lula comfortable with social media in a way that felt natural for him. The far right's dominance on social media presents a challenge for Lula, who has insisted he does not use a cellphone because he needs his hands for other tasks and prefers to say only what is essential.",
  "summary": "RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva does not own a cellphone and has long mocked the “finger-tapping generation”.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}