Lula campaign files complaint against Meta with Brazil’s electoral court — The Rio Times
In Brazil, the electoral coalition of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva filed a complaint against Meta with the Superior Electoral Court on October 14. The campaign claims that the Meta AI assistant built into WhatsApp responded differently to requests concerning campaign materials for Lula and his rival, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The Rio Times reports.
Complaint to the electoral court
According to CartaCapital, Meta AI twice refused to create images of Lula with his electoral number 13, while generating posters for Flávio Bolsonaro with number 22. Poder360 and Diário do Nordeste obtained similar results in their own tests on October 14.
Campaign representative and Senator Camilo Santana said that after his request for a flag featuring Lula and number 13, the tool displayed an option with Flávio Bolsonaro’s number 22. The Brasil Pronto pra Mais coalition called the tool’s behavior manipulation of public debate and asked the court to take urgent measures.
Among the campaign’s demands are to stop what it considers unjustified restrictions, remove accounts the coalition calls fake, and restore the reach of Lula’s posts at Meta’s expense. The campaign also said that on October 9 and 10, Lula’s official Instagram account was unable to pay to promote posts.
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Meta’s position and international appeal
Meta denied favoring any candidate. The company said that, in accordance with Brazil’s electoral rules, it had temporarily prohibited Meta AI from recommending candidates or creating their images. It also said it had taken steps to block requests using only a candidate’s name and electoral number.
On October 12, Meta acknowledged technical failures affecting Lula’s advertisements and posts, but rejected claims that Bolsonaro was given an advantage. Separately, Brazil’s federal prosecutors gave Meta and X five days to explain blocked accounts and removed political posts. This investigation was launched following an appeal from civil society organizations, rather than electoral campaigns.
Lula’s campaign also planned to appeal to the Organization of American States and Brazil’s data protection authority. The second round of Brazil’s presidential election between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro is scheduled for October 25.
