Lula vows to regulate social media
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The gist
Brazil's President Lula accused Meta of favoring rival Flavio Bolsonaro before the runoff.
The dispute has pushed social media regulation to the center of Brazilian politics.
Background
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is Brazil's president and a candidate seeking a fourth term; his runoff opponent is Flavio Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator and son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula's campaign says Meta, the parent company of Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, boosted Bolsonaro-linked content while limiting the incumbent's, and the dispute has moved social media regulation back to the forefront of Brazilian politics. More than 76 percent of Brazilian voters now get their news online, and Meta received at least 288m Brazilian reais ($57m) in direct campaign spending in 2026, double its 2022 total.
How it unfolded
- Oct 4, 2026In the first round of Brazil's presidential election, Lula received 45 percent to Flavio Bolsonaro's 47 percent, sending the race to a runoff.
- Oct 18, 2026In the first debate of the second round, Lula challenged Bolsonaro on corruption, saying he could open his bank reports if Flavio did the same.
- recentlyBrazil's electoral tribunal ordered Meta to treat both presidential candidates equally after Lula's campaign accused the company of boosting Bolsonaro's content while restricting the incumbent's.
- Oct 19, 2026Lula supporters demonstrated outside Meta's headquarters in Sao Paulo, denouncing alleged interference by big tech in the election; the electoral court gave Meta 24 hours to prove equal treatment of the two campaigns.
- Oct 20, 2026Lula's campaign accused Meta of manipulating social media days before the vote; Meta blamed global technical glitches and denied political bias.
- Oct 22, 2026Lula's campaign filed a petition to the country's top electoral court requesting the disqualification of Flavio Bolsonaro over alleged Meta interference.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- Lula's campaign says Meta limited its content to boost Bolsonaro, citing "information, including from Meta employees" that accounts linked to one side were disproportionately curtailed.
- Official
- Meta called the bias allegations "false and unfounded," blamed "technical incidents" and global technical glitches, and said it would comply with a court order to treat both candidates equally.
- Expert
- Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes called the Meta episode "bad behavior from a Big Tech player" and said there would certainly be proceedings and possibly punishment depending on the degree of the failure.
- Support
- Newly elected lawmaker Ana Elisa Santos said the left is "lagging behind" digitally and the right "understood long before the left that there is no longer any separation between social media and the street."
Still unverified
Lula's campaign claims, based on "information, including from Meta employees," that Meta limited its content to boost Bolsonaro; Meta denies political bias. Meta's explanation that "technical incidents" or global technical glitches caused the problems is also unconfirmed.