In brief
In the run‑up to Brazil’s presidential runoff, Lula’s team is demanding that his rival Flávio Bolsonaro be disqualified, accusing Meta of preferentially limiting or boosting content. A United Nations report and the country’s top electoral court have highlighted discrepancies in how the platforms handled the two campaigns. Both sides have filed petitions against each other, with Bolsonaro questioning Lula’s use of government data on WhatsApp. The situation raises concerns about digital fairness and the stakes of an election that could shape Brazil’s future environmental policies.
Brazil’s incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has asked the Superior Electoral Court to disqualify his right‑wing rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, ahead of the Sunday run‑off, citing unfair treatment by Meta – the company behind WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
On Wednesday, Lula’s campaign filed a petition against the top electoral court, accusing Meta of “limiting its content to boost Bolsonaro’s campaign.” The petition points to temporary interruptions of Bolsonaro’s campaign accounts, differences in audience engagement and restrictions on Instagram posts.
United Nations experts released a special rapporteur report on Wednesday, warning that Meta must ensure a level playing field online and that “information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side of the presidential race were disproportionately curtailed.”
Meta has denied any bias, saying it treats all political sides equally and will comply with the Brazilian court’s orders. The tech giant also rejected claims that its AI tools have been used to exclude content showing Lula.
In turn, Bolsonaro filed a petition alleging that Lula’s government used official databases to send mass messages on WhatsApp and that the campaign’s content was artificially boosted. He is also seeking to bar Lula from standing for election for the next eight years.
As Brazil’s 159 million voters head to the polls, the outcome will shape environmental policy, including Amazon deforestation targets and climate commitments. A final victory for Lula could bolster the country’s ambitious green agenda.
