Brazil's Lula accuses Meta of election interference
Meta said it adopted 17 measures after a court order to ensure equal treatment of Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro campaigns on its platforms.
- On Friday, Meta employees acknowledged in internal communications that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Instagram accounts were restricted during the election, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
- The internal messages also revealed that the platform actively recommended the profile and WhatsApp channel of challenger Flavio Bolsonaro, contradicting neutrality claims.
- Lula's campaign alleged that Meta used biased algorithms to manipulate social media, claiming posts lacked share buttons and users struggled with WhatsApp's "Meta AI" for campaign images.
- Brazil's top electoral court directed Meta on Thursday to ensure equal treatment for both candidates, stipulating that "Meta AI, the company's artificial intelligence chatbot, must not favor either candidate."
- Ahead of the October 25 runoff election, Lula will face Bolsonaro following the senator's stronger-than-expected performance in the first-round vote held earlier this month.
239 Articles
239 Articles
The mood in Brazil is high in the final days before the decisive round of the presidential election. Candidates Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro are trying to have each other disqualified from the election.
While the second round between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro looks very tight, the two candidates accuse the American technology giant respectively of "interference" and "abuse of power".
The outgoing left-wing president, Lula, accuses Meta of "interference" to the far-right candidate, Flavio Bolsonaro, who believes in return that Lula has committed an "abuse of power" through massive publications on WhatsApp messaging.
Both demands are related to Meta's social media services. The second round of Brazil's presidential election is scheduled to be held on Sunday.
Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is targeted by Lula for allegedly damaging him on his platforms.
The second round of the presidential election in Brazil will take place on Sunday 25 October and will have to separate Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro. But do platforms like Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp favour the conservative candidate? The current president's camp accuses their owner, the American giant Meta, of limiting the broadcast of his messages to the benefit of his rival.
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