Report: Meta employees say Lula’s accounts were restricted during Brazil election
Reported by Al Jazeera · October 16, 2026
Internal messages describe account impact
The messages were reported by a Brazilian daily. They also said the platform recommended Bolsonaro’s profile and his WhatsApp channel.
Meta disputes political interference
Meta told Reuters that the technical issues mentioned in the report were already public. It said the conversations referred only to how serious those issues were, rather than to political interference.
Runoff follows first-round result
The dispute followed a complaint Lula filed against Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. He accused the company of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to benefit Bolsonaro ahead of the election.
Court sets daily penalty
Bellizze, a judge in Brazil’s top electoral court, ruled that Meta must comply with the order. The company faces a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) for each day it fails to do so.
Key points
- Meta communications acknowledged restrictions affected Lula’s Instagram accounts, according to media reports.
- Meta said the reported discussions concerned technical issues, not political interference.
- Lula is due to face Bolsonaro in a runoff on October 25.
- A judge set a daily fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) for noncompliance.