Meta denies: We did not act to tilt the elections in Brazil
Meta has denied allegations of political bias in Brazil's elections, days before the second round between Lula and Bolsonaro. The company attributes the glitches to technical issues, while the court ordered equal treatment for both candidates. Meanwhile, internal leaks and new research reveal that thousands of illegal political ads funded by American money were approved.
Meta has strongly denied allegations of political bias in Brazil's presidential elections, days before the second round on October 25 between President Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro. The electoral court ruled that the platform must give equal treatment to both candidates. Meta claimed that problems on the platform stemmed from global technical glitches, fraud prevention measures, and regulatory compliance, not targeted suppression. However, reports in the newspaper "Folha de S.Paulo" based on internal leaks revealed that Meta employees admitted that Lula's campaign accounts were restricted. New research from the University of Rio de Janeiro found that between July and September, at least 1,613 illegal political ads were approved, which received 171 million views and generated about $400,000 for Meta, funded by American money. The article links the tensions to the Lula administration's regulatory efforts against tech giants and tensions with the Trump administration, and compares it to similar cases in Europe, including the cancellation of elections in Romania in 2024.