Meta employees have acknowledged in internal communications that Instagram accounts belonging to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were negatively affected by restrictions during the country’s election, according to messages reported by Brazilian daily Folha de S Paulo.
The messages also indicated that Meta’s platform recommended the profile of Lula’s challenger, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as well as his WhatsApp channel, Folha reported after reviewing the communications.
In response, Meta told Reuters that the technical issues cited in the report were already public and that internal conversations related solely to the severity of those issues, not political interference. “Any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false,” the company stated.
According to Lula’s party, some of his posts appeared without a share button and had reduced reach. Options for reactions, sharing, audio or accelerated speed were also missing from certain posts.
Lula, the left-wing incumbent, faces right-wing challenger Bolsonaro in a presidential runoff scheduled for October 25, following Bolsonaro’s stronger-than-expected performance in the first-round vote earlier this month.
The report emerged shortly after a Brazilian court ruling on Thursday ordered Meta to immediately adopt measures providing equal treatment of both candidates ahead of the runoff. Justice Marco Aurelio Bellizze of Brazil’s top electoral court ruled that Meta cannot reduce the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in ways that create imbalance between the two candidates. The ruling also requires Meta’s artificial intelligence tool to apply identical criteria to both candidacies.
Bellizze’s ruling imposes a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) per day if Meta fails to comply. The court order came after Lula filed a complaint accusing the tech giant—which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp—of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor Bolsonaro ahead of the election.
Key facts
- Meta employees acknowledged via internal messages that Lula’s Instagram accounts were negatively affected by platform restrictions during Brazil’s election
- Meta’s platform also recommended Bolsonaro’s profile and WhatsApp channel, according to Folha de S Paulo
- A Brazilian court ruled Meta must provide equal treatment to both candidates and pay 500,000 reais ($98,700) per day if it fails to comply
- Lula’s posts reportedly lacked share buttons and had reduced reach, with missing reaction and sharing options
- Meta stated the technical issues were already public and denied any political bias or interference