The party of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will file a complaint against tech giant Meta with the Organization of American States (OAS) for alleged election interference, the president's campaign team said on Wednesday, quoted by AFP.
Lula is running for a fourth consecutive term in the runoff on October 25, when he will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro - son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. According to the incumbent president's party, Meta is harming his campaign by restricting content published online. The company denies the allegations.
“It is time to denounce Meta to the international community, starting with the OAS“, the party's communications secretary, Eden Valladares, told reporters. He said the decision was made on the orders of Lula himself.
The party claims that before the first round of the election last Sunday, in which Flavio Bolsonaro finished in first place, the profiles of Lula and other left-wing leaders suddenly disappeared from Instagram search results. Meta's Brazilian office denied the allegations.
The president's campaign team has scheduled a meeting with international election observers for Thursday to discuss the alleged interference.
Lula also claims that the United States is trying to influence the electoral process in favor of Flavio Bolsonaro, whose father is an ally of US President Donald Trump.
After the first round, Lula, who does not use a mobile phone, launched a campaign with videos on social media.