US Lawmakers Press Meta over Brazil’s Runoff and Lula’s Bias Claims
- On Thursday, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and 12 Democratic House members urged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to address reports of unequal treatment in Brazil's presidential campaigns, requesting a briefing for Friday and written answers by Nov. 4.
- Prior to the letter, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's campaign filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging misuse of mass media and abuse of economic power, following Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze's order for Meta to ensure equal treatment or face 500,000 reais daily fines.
- Electoral court President Kassio Nunes Marques ordered Meta to report within 24 hours on "Lula's Army," a pro-Lula WhatsApp channel run by Congressman André Janones with about 8.4 million followers, though Meta denied algorithmic bias, attributing content performance to audience engagement.
- With the contentious presidential runoff set for Sunday, the court is enforcing strict equality rules for content distribution, and Meta stated it does not recommend organic posts from candidate accounts to non-followers during the campaign.
- Fernando Neisser, a lawyer with the Brazilian Academy of Electoral and Political Law, criticized the electoral court's timing, arguing such platform obligations and fines are typically established in the year before elections, not days before the runoff.
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18 Articles
The sentence is known only two days after the second round of the presidential elections in Brazil, on Sunday, which will be held by Bolsonaro and Lula, the two most voted in the first round, with 47% and 45% of the votes, respectively.
US lawmakers press Meta over Brazil’s runoff and Lula’s bias claims
Senator Bernie Sanders and 12 House Democrats have told Mark Zuckerberg it is “unacceptable” for a platform to favour one candidate. Their letter, sent on Thursday, asks Meta to explain its role in Brazil’s presidential race. The runoff is on Sunday. The vote pits President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Lula’s […] This story continues at The Next Web
Sanders and Democratic lawmakers ask Meta to explain alleged favouritism towards Bolsonaro
US Senator Bernie Sanders and 11 other Democratic lawmakers on Thursday asked Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to explain the alleged unequal treatment by Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp of the campaigns of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who face each other on Sunday in Brazil’s presidential runoff.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and several U.S. Democratic Congressmen this Thursday asked President of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, to explain the alleged unequal treatment of his major companies (Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp) to the campaigns of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and ultra-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who on Sunday measured strength in the second round of Brazil's presidential elections. The campaign's final s…
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- 70% of the sources lean Left
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