The president’s campaign Brazil, Lula da Silvaaccused Goal to harm him on social networks and favor his rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, facing the second round of elections on October 25th. The company denies any political biaswhile Brazilian electoral justice demands guarantees of equality. What is known about the case and what evidence exists?
The technology giant Goal is the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsAppin addition to Messenger. By June of this year, its platforms recorded an average of 3.6 billion daily active users throughout the world, according to the company, an audience that turns its networks into an actor with enormous reach in the dissemination of political information.
For the case of Brazilat the end of 2025 the advertising tools of Goal estimated a potential reach of 147 million users in instagram and 109 million in Facebookalthough these figures are not equivalent to active users and may include the same person on both platforms.
Additionally, a 2025 survey placed WhatsApp as the platform most used by the population of Brazil connected, with a reach of 93.9%; they followed him instagramwith 91.2%; and Facebookwith 80.5%.
The denunciation of Lula’s campaign
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva greets his supporters during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on October 16, 2026. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP).
/ MAURO PIMENTEL
Under this context the controversy arose. On October 10, the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that Lula’s campaign accused Meta of harming the dissemination of its content and favoring Flávio Bolsonaro. The president’s team announced actions before the electoral justice and data protection authorities, and announced that it would take the case before the Organization of American States (OAS).
According to a statement from the campaign, Instagram prevented Lula’s profile from promoting posts from his feedwhile one of his publications suffered an interruption in the viewing record that, according to the president’s team, affected its reach.
The campaign also stated that, before the first round, the pages of Lula and other leftist leaders suddenly disappeared from the search engine instagram.
Added to these incidents were difficulties converting posts into paid ads. Likewise, the campaign denounced that the profile of Flavio Bolsonaro appeared among the automatic suggestions of instagramwhile that of Lula It didn’t even appear when entering his name. Likewise, he maintained that, When searching for the president on WhatsApp, the platform recommended his rival’s channel.
The complaint also pointed to a alleged unequal treatment of Meta algorithms, which, according to the team Lulawould have given greater visibility to certain profiles linked to the right. He also questioned the functioning of Meta AIpointing out that the tool applied different restrictions to equivalent requests for political images favorable to Lula and Bolsonaro.
“The succession of technical problems that the company has not explained raises strong suspicions that Meta’s actions constitute an attempt to interfere in the Brazilian electoral process to benefit the candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro”the campaign stated in its statement.
The electoral authority intervenes
Brazilian right-wing senator and presidential candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), Flavio Bolsonaro, gestures during a rally on Paulista Avenue on October 18, 2026. (Photo by Miguel Schincariol / AFP).
/ MIGUEL SCHINCAROL
On October 11, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) asked Goal explanations about the alleged restrictions on Lula’s publications, their distribution, algorithmic recommendations and possible geoblocking.
The TSE ordered Meta to guarantee equal treatment to the candidacies of Lula and Flávio Bolsonarolow threat of a daily fine of 500,000 reais (US$93,000), according to information released by the EFE agency. However, what the authority said is not equivalent to a ruling that declares the political manipulation of the algorithms proven.
The TSE decision prohibits Goal reduce the distribution of political content, exclude publications from recommendation systems, restrict their visibility in searches or alter metrics without valid justification.
He also ordered that Goal Ensure that your AI tool applies the same criteria to both candidates and review with human intervention the restrictions imposed on the advertising accounts of the campaigns.
Meta’s response
A folder with Meta applications (Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Messenger, Muse, WhatsApp and Meta AI) is displayed on the screen of a smartphone in Créteil, France, on September 9, 2026. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via AFP).
/ SAMUEL BOIVIN
On Friday, October 16, Meta denied that he is interfering in Brazil’s presidential elections and attributed the problems reported by Lula’s campaign to “technical incidents.” and not a deliberate decision.
“Brazilian voters deserve facts, not a political narrative constructed by combining unrelated technical problems. Goal will continue to enforce its rules, will abide by Brazilian electoral legislation, will correct errors when they occur, and will ensure a level playing field for all who use our services”the company stated in a statement.
“Goal applies the same rules to all candidates, parties and political points of view in Braziljust as it does in elections around the world. We do not remove content to harm any party, nor do we give preferential treatment to any party. Each of the incidents cited by Lula’s campaign has a direct and documented explanation, as described above. None of them reflect political bias.”he added.
The company admitted that the advertising account of Lula was mistakenly disabled for just over an hour on September 23, that there were global glitches in counting reel views and creating ads from existing posts, and that a deficiency in its artificial intelligence controls allowed different results on certain requests for political images.
The same Friday, Folha de S.Paulo revealed that Meta workers admitted in internal messages that in recent days the restrictions have harmed Lula’s accounts while the algorithm recommended Flávio Bolsonaro’s profile.
Cerimedo, Bolsonaro and Meta: the accusation of Nadia Beller
From Boliviathe lawyer Nadia Beller accused his ex-partner, the Argentine political consultant Fernando Cerimedohaving coordinated with family members Bolsonaro and maintain contacts Goal to reduce the digital visibility of the campaign Lula.
The statements of Beller were published on October 13 in the Mexican newspaper The Daylike an excerpt from an interview of his that had circulated online through the Spanish journalist Julián Macías Tovar.
According to Beller, Cerimedo sent him a photograph at the beginning of August with Bolsonaro and told him that They were discussing campaign issues and seeking funding.
Beller also stated that the consultant has contacts in Goal that would allow you to delete or reactivate pages.
