Protesters rally at Meta office depicting Zuckerberg as devil
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The gist
Hundreds of protesters rallied outside Meta's São Paulo offices, carrying devil-horned effigies of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Brazil's electoral court is weighing whether Meta treated both presidential campaigns fairly.
Background
Mark Zuckerberg is CEO of Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Protesters accuse the company of limiting content tied to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva while favoring his challenger, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, ahead of an Oct 25 runoff vote. The dispute has reached Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which ordered Meta to show it is treating both campaigns equally under law.
How it unfolded
- Earlier this monthMeta restricted over 1,000 social media accounts belonging to Lula, and his Instagram profile was blocked from promoting posts for almost 24 hours.
- Over the weekendMeta temporarily suspended Instagram accounts belonging to the No Kings coalition, per the Guardian.
- Oct 19, 2026Activists gathered outside Meta's São Paulo offices wearing masks and carrying images of Zuckerberg with devil horns.
- Oct 20, 2026Protesters rallied outside Meta's offices accusing it of electoral interference; Brazil's Electoral Court gave Meta 24 hours to prove it guarantees equal treatment for both campaigns.
- Oct 22, 2026Hundreds rallied carrying effigies mocking Zuckerberg as the devil incarnate, coinciding with the Superior Electoral Court's order that Meta release proof of equitable treatment.
- Oct 25, 2026Runoff vote scheduled between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.
Who’s saying what
- Public
- Protesters accuse Meta of limiting content associated with Lula while giving an advantage to challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, carrying signs reading 'não se Meta' ('Meta stay out').
- Party
- Lula's allies accuse Meta of artificially boosting content from far-right contender Flávio Bolsonaro, and his campaign filed a complaint with the Superior Electoral Court arguing its systems disadvantaged its political content.
- Official
- Meta publicly denies wrongdoing, saying any perceived imbalance came from two global service outages and that it did not deliberately favor either candidate.
- Expert
- Former Meta employee Daniela Silva said she left in early 2025 after Zuckerberg moved to roll back integrity policies and align with the incoming Trump administration, calling such intervention a crossed ethical line.
Still unverified
Whether Meta's treatment of political content was intentional or not remains unconfirmed; the company attributes reported problems to technical issues and denies favoring either candidate.