Brazilian President Lula to file election interference complaint against Meta

The political party of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced plans to file an election interference complaint against Meta with the Organisation of American States, France 24 and Free Malaysia Today reported. The party claims that the technology company is restricting Lula's online content ahead of a presidential runoff election against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Meta denies the allegations. [1][9]

According to The New York Times, Lula and his allies claim that Meta is attempting to give his right-wing opponent an advantage in the close presidential race. Novara Media previously reported that Lula accused Meta of interfering in the election by restricting his posts, while Folha de S.Paulo reported that Meta AI created campaign material for Flavio Bolsonaro while blocking content related to Lula. [4][5][8][10]

The political dispute comes as Lula seeks a fourth nonconsecutive term in office, according to France 24. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Lula faced a first-round defeat against Flavio Bolsonaro, who has served as a senator for Rio de Janeiro since 2019. Thousands of demonstrators subsequently marched through Rio de Janeiro to protest against Bolsonaro after his first-round victory. [1][13][14]

According to the Irish Times, Lula trails Bolsonaro by 2.22 million votes following the first round. Supporters, students, and social media organisers are attempting an unprecedented turnaround for the ruling Workers Party ahead of the decisive runoff vote scheduled for October 25. [1][3]