Lula camp seeks Bolsonaro disqualification over alleged Meta interference in Brazil vote
Brazil's president asks the top electoral court to disqualify Flávio Bolsonaro, who in turn seeks Lula's disqualification, days before Sunday's run-off.
At a glance
- Lula's campaign asked Brazil's top electoral court to disqualify Flávio Bolsonaro over alleged Meta interference.
- Flávio Bolsonaro filed a petition seeking to disqualify Lula over what he called mass government posts on WhatsApp.
- Brazilians vote on Sunday in a close run-off; Bolsonaro narrowly won the 4 October first round but fell short of 50%.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign has asked the country’s top electoral court to disqualify right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in the final round of the presidential election, which is due on Sunday. The petition, filed on Wednesday, alleges interference by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
The Lula campaign accuses Meta of limiting its content in order to boost Bolsonaro’s campaign. In response, Bolsonaro filed a petition seeking to disqualify Lula over what he described as the mass dissemination of government posts on WhatsApp. Meta has denied that the campaigns have been treated unequally.
UN concerns and Meta response
The petitions came after UN experts said on Wednesday they were concerned about reports of discrepancies in how well each campaign could reach voters on Meta’s platforms. A report led by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field online during the election.
The report cited incidents including temporary interruptions of one candidate’s campaign account, differences in audience engagement, user feeds, view counts and reach, and restrictions on that campaign’s Instagram posts. It said information, including from Meta employees, suggested accounts linked to one side of the race were disproportionately curtailed.
Meta has denied taking action to favour one side and has said it would comply with an order from a Brazilian court to treat Bolsonaro and Lula equally. Lula’s campaign had previously complained that accounts and content related to Bolsonaro were boosted. Users also reported that Meta’s artificial intelligence tools were not generating images related to Lula.
Legal filings
On Wednesday, Lula’s campaign filed a petition with Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for Bolsonaro and his vice-presidential candidate, Alfredo Gaspar, to be investigated over “abuse of economic power and improper use of social network”. The petition also seeks to make Bolsonaro ineligible to stand for election for eight years after the 2026 election.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro, accused his rival of “abuse of political and economic power”. He claims the government used personal data taken from official databases to send mass WhatsApp messages promoting social programmes.
Brazilians will vote on Sunday as Lula seeks a fourth term. Bolsonaro beat Lula in the first round on 4 October by a narrow margin but fell short of the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright. Opinion polls suggest the run-off will be extremely close, with Brazil’s 159 million registered voters preparing to go to the ballot boxes.
Source: BBC World.
Questions and answers
- Why is Lula's campaign seeking Flávio Bolsonaro's disqualification?
- It filed a petition with Brazil's top electoral court alleging Meta limited Lula's content to boost Bolsonaro's campaign. Meta denies treating the campaigns unequally.
- What does Flávio Bolsonaro accuse Lula of?
- He filed a petition seeking Lula's disqualification over what he says was mass dissemination of government posts on WhatsApp. He accused his rival of abuse of political and economic power.
- When is Brazil's presidential run-off and how close is the race?
- The run-off is on Sunday. Opinion polls suggest it will be extremely close; Bolsonaro beat Lula narrowly in the 4 October first round but fell short of the 50% needed to win outright.
