Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s party plans to file a complaint against Meta with the Organisation of American States alleging election interference, his campaign said Wednesday. The party accuses Meta of restricting Lula’s online content ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff against far-right Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Meta denies the allegations.
The leftist leader is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term in an October 25 runoff, where he will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
His party maintains that Meta is harming his campaign by restricting his online content, which the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram denies.
“It’s time to denounce (Meta) before the international community, starting with the OAS,” party Communications Secretary Eden Valadares told reporters, adding that Lula himself had ordered the move.
His campaign earlier claimed that Meta in recent days “prevented President Lula’s profile from promoting Instagram feed posts”, while a post from his official account “experienced an interruption in view counts, which affected its reach”.
Meta’s Brazil office denied the charges, calling them “simply false” and “not supported by the facts”.
The incumbent’s campaign called a Thursday meeting with international election observers to discuss the alleged interference.
Lula has claimed that the United States is trying to interfere in the elections in favour of Flavio Bolsonaro, whose father is an ally of US President Donald Trump.
Following the first round of voting, Lula launched a social media push that includes videos of him addressing his online followers.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
