Brazil's Lula seeks disqualification of rival Bolsonaro over alleged Meta interference

Accusations of social media bias fly in final days of neck-and-neck presidential runoff

By LineZotpaper

Published22 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Sources2 outlets

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's campaign has filed a petition to disqualify right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro from Sunday's presidential runoff, accusing Meta's platforms of unfairly boosting his rival's campaign. Bolsonaro's campaign responded with its own disqualification request, alleging Lula misused government data to send mass messages on WhatsApp. Meta has denied treating the campaigns unequally.

With just days before the final round of Brazil's presidential election, the campaigns of both candidates have filed competing petitions with the nation's top electoral court, each seeking the other's disqualification.

Lula's petition, filed Wednesday with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), alleges that Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, limited its content in a way that favoured Bolsonaro. The petition also calls for an investigation into Bolsonaro and his vice-presidential candidate, Alfredo Gaspar, over alleged abuse of economic power and improper use of social networks, and seeks to make Bolsonaro ineligible to stand for election for eight years after the 2026 vote.

Bolsonaro's campaign, led by the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro, counter-filed, accusing Lula of abuse of political and economic power. The complaint claims the government used personal data from official databases to send mass messages on WhatsApp promoting social programmes.

The dispute comes as UN experts expressed concern over reported discrepancies in how the two campaigns reach voters on Meta's platforms. A report led by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression cited incidents including temporary interruptions of one campaign's account, differences in audience engagement, and restrictions on Instagram posts. The report said information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side were disproportionately curtailed.

Meta has denied taking any action to favour one side. The company said it would comply with a Brazilian court order requiring equal treatment of both candidates. Lula's campaign had earlier filed a separate complaint alleging Bolsonaro-related accounts and content were boosted, and some users reported that Meta's AI tools were not generating images related to Lula.

Opinion polls show the race is extremely close ahead of Sunday's vote. Bolsonaro beat Lula in the first round on 4 October but fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The integrity of Brazil's presidential election is at stake, with both campaigns accusing each other of exploiting social media platforms to gain an unfair advantage.
Meta's role in mediating political discourse raises broader questions about the power of global tech companies in democratic processes worldwide.
The outcome of the election and the court's decisions could affect Brazil's political landscape for years, including potential bans on candidates.

Background

Brazil's presidential election has been deeply polarised, with left-wing incumbent Lula facing right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro. The first round on 4 October left Bolsonaro ahead but without an outright majority, forcing a runoff. Social media platforms have become a central battleground, with both campaigns relying heavily on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook to reach voters. The TSE has previously ordered Meta to treat both candidates equally, but the latest complaints escalate the conflict.

Key Perspectives

Lula's campaign: Argues that Meta's algorithmic decisions disproportionately limited the reach of Lula's content, effectively boosting Bolsonaro. They see this as an abuse of economic power and a threat to electoral fairness. Bolsonaro's camp: Accuses Lula of using state resources and personal data to flood WhatsApp with propaganda, constituting abuse of political and economic power. They claim Lula's campaign is the one benefiting from unequal treatment. Meta: Denies any bias, stating it treats all campaigns equally and will comply with the court order. The company has not commented on specific allegations of employee reports. UN experts: Called for a level playing field online, citing evidence that one campaign's accounts were disproportionately curtailed. They did not name which side but expressed concern about the electoral process.

What to Watch

Sunday's vote result: A narrow margin could trigger further legal challenges and street protests.
The TSE's rulings on the disqualification petitions: A decision to disqualify either candidate would upend the election.
Meta's compliance with the court order and any internal findings: The company's actions in the coming days could influence public trust in the process.

Sources

Lula, Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other ahead of Brazil runoff · Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Lula says rival should be disqualified over alleged Meta interference ahead of Brazil vote · BBC News

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedLula is seeking to disqualify Bolsonaro over alleged Meta interference.BBC News: “Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's campaign has requested the disqualification of right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in the lead up to the final round of the presidential election on Sunday over alleged interference by social media company Meta.”
SupportedThe runoff is neck-and-neck, with only days remaining before the vote.BBC News: “Opinion polls suggest Sunday’s run-off will be extremely close, with little separating the two”
SupportedLula's campaign filed a petition with the TSE on Wednesday.BBC News: “On Wednesday, Lula's campaign filed a petition to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for Bolsonaro and Alfredo Gaspar, his candidate for vice-president, to be investigated over “abuse of economic power and improper use of social network”.”
SupportedLula's petition seeks an investigation of Bolsonaro and vice-presidential candidate Alfredo Gaspar over alleged abuse of economic power and improper use of social networks.BBC News: “On Wednesday, Lula's campaign filed a petition to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) for Bolsonaro and Alfredo Gaspar, his candidate for vice-president, to be investigated over “abuse of economic power and improper use of social network”.”
SupportedLula's petition seeks to make Bolsonaro ineligible for eight years after the 2026 election.BBC News: “The petition also seeks to make Bolsonaro ineligible to stand for election for eight years following the 2026 election.”
SupportedMeta limited Lula's content to boost Bolsonaro's campaign, according to Lula's petition.BBC News: “In a petition filed to the country's top electoral court on Wednesday, the leftist incumbent president accused Meta, the tech giant behind Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook, of limiting its content to boost Bolsonaro's campaign.”
SupportedBolsonaro filed a request to disqualify Lula.BBC News: “In response, Bolsonaro filed a petition seeking to disqualify Lula over what he said was the mass dissemination of government posts on WhatsApp.”
Partly supportedBolsonaro's complaint claims the government used personal data from official databases to send WhatsApp messages promoting social programmes.BBC News: “Meanwhile, Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro, accused his rival of “abuse of political and economic power”. He claims the government has used personal data taken from official databases to send mass messages on Whatsapp to promote social programmes.”
Partly supportedBolsonaro's campaign is led by the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.BBC News: “Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro”
SupportedA UN-led report cited interruptions to one campaign's account, differences in audience engagement and restrictions on Instagram posts, and said accounts linked to one side were disproportionately curtailed.BBC News: “A report led by the UN's special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field online during the election. It cited incidents including “temporary interruptions of one candidate's campaign account; differences in audience engagement, user feeds, view counts and reach; restrictions on that campaign's Instagram posts”. “Information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side of the presidential race were disproportionately curtailed,” it read.”
SupportedMeta denied favouring either side and said it would comply with a Brazilian court order to treat the candidates equally.BBC News: “Meta has denied taking action to favour one side of the election and has said it would comply with an order from a Brazilian court to treat Bolsonaro and Lula equally.”
Partly supportedBolsonaro beat Lula in the first round on 4 October but did not reach the 50 percent threshold for an outright win.BBC News: “Bolsonaro beat Lula in the first round of voting on 4 October by a narrow margin, but fell short of the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright.”