Meta Platforms is facing allegations of political bias in Brazil's presidential election after internal communications reportedly revealed that Instagram accounts belonging to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva experienced technical restrictions during the campaign.
Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported Friday that Meta employees acknowledged problems affecting Lula's Instagram profiles while the platform promoted content associated with his rival, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, including Bolsonaro's Instagram account and WhatsApp channel.
The revelations come ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election on October 25, when Lula will face Bolsonaro following the senator's stronger-than-expected performance in the first round earlier this month.
Meta rejected allegations of election interference, maintaining that the technical problems were already publicly known. The company said the internal discussions focused exclusively on the severity of those issues rather than any attempt to influence voters.
"Any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false," the company said in a statement.
Lula's political allies have accused Meta of manipulating social media visibility during the election campaign. Earlier this week, his team announced plans to file a complaint with the Organization of American States (OAS), raising concerns about potential interference in Brazil's democratic process.
According to Lula's Workers' Party, several Instagram posts appeared without sharing options, while others experienced reduced visibility. Some Instagram Stories reportedly prevented users from reacting or sharing content, while videos occasionally played without sound or at unusually accelerated speeds.
The controversy prompted intervention from Brazil's top electoral court. On Thursday, a justice ordered Meta to avoid unjustifiably restricting the reach of political content involving either presidential candidate through the remainder of the runoff campaign.
The ruling also addressed artificial intelligence, requiring Meta AI, the company's chatbot, to remain politically neutral when generating election-related responses about Lula and Bolsonaro.
The decision increases regulatory scrutiny of Meta's content distribution practices as Brazil approaches a closely watched presidential vote.
With Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp playing significant roles in political communication, the dispute highlights growing concerns about social media algorithms, election transparency and the potential influence of major technology companies on democratic elections.
Meta continues to deny favoring either candidate as the October 25 runoff approaches.
