Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign has accused Meta of restricting the distribution of content in his favor and favoring his rival Flavio Bolsonaro. The request is to investigate alleged interference and unequal treatment on the platforms.
In the runoff on October 25, Lula will face Flavio Bolsonaro, not his father Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is out of the race, while his son is the candidate of the Liberal Party. In the first round, Flavio received 47.03% of the valid votes, while Lula – 45.16%
What are the accusations against Meta
Lula's campaign claims that posts and accounts associated with the president were restricted on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, while content supporting Flavio Bolsonaro was given greater visibility. One of the cases cited was the inability of Lula's official Instagram account to promote posts for almost 24 hours on October 9. The campaign estimates that as a result, about 1.3 million people did not see paid political messages.
According to information from “Folha de São Paulo“, internal messages from Meta employees show that the restrictions affected Lula's accounts, while Flavio Bolsonaro's account was included in recommendations and searches on WhatsApp. Meta denies political favoritism and says it is a technical issue that has affected other countries and accounts.
The campaign also points to different behavior of the Meta AI tool. In tests, the system refused to create an election poster with “Lula 13“, but generated an image with “Flávio 22“. The company explains the difference with an automatic safety filter and states that it has taken measures to treat the candidates equally.
Electoral Court Decision
On October 16, Brazil's Supreme Electoral Court upheld a measure that obliged Meta to ensure equal treatment of the campaigns of Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro. It is prohibited to artificially reduce the reach of political content related to either candidate.
The decision does not declare that Meta manipulated the election, nor does it remove Flavio Bolsonaro from the race. It obliges the company to correct the way it distributes content by the end of the runoff.
The debate did not convince the undecided
On October 18, Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro participated in their first live television debate of the second round campaign. The meeting was heated and with mutual attacks. Analysts at CNN Brasil pointed out that the two spoke mainly to their already convinced supporters, rather than seeking support among undecided voters.
“The debate increased polarization and alienated the undecided“, was the assessment of CNN Brasil. According to the media analysis, both campaigns acknowledge that the confrontational tone is likely to bring in few new votes. The next key stage is the vote on October 25, when it will be clear whether Flavio's lead from the first round will be maintained.
Sources: apnews.com, cnnbrasil.com.br, www1.folha.uol.com.br