President Lula has asked Brazil's electoral court to disqualify his rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, citing alleged interference by Meta in the election.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wants his right-wing opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, disqualified. His campaign filed a formal request with Brazil's top electoral court this Wednesday.
Also, the president claims Meta interfered with the upcoming election. He accuses the tech company of restricting his content to help his rival's campaign.
Meanwhile, Flávio Bolsonaro submitted his own petition to the court. He claims Lula misused government power by sending mass messages through WhatsApp.
However, Meta denies these accusations of bias. The company insists it treats all political campaigns equally and follows all court orders.
Next, United Nations experts raised concerns about this situation. They noted significant differences in how each campaign reaches voters on Meta's various platforms.
The UN report cites several technical issues. These include account interruptions, lower view counts, and restricted posts for specific candidates.
Furthermore, some reports suggest Meta employees believe certain accounts faced unfair limits. Protesters recently gathered outside Meta’s office in São Paulo to demand fair treatment.
After that, Lula’s team requested an investigation into alleged abuse of economic power. They want to make Bolsonaro ineligible for office for eight years.
Still, Flávio Bolsonaro argues that Lula is the one abusing power. He claims the government used private data to promote programs via WhatsApp messages.
Finally, the race remains very tight as the vote approaches this Sunday. Nearly 159 million Brazilians will head to the polls to decide the winner.