The Lula camp will ask the courts on Tuesday to cancel the candidacy of Flavio Bolsonaro, his presidential rival in Brazil, said a source from the left-wing president’s team, citing “interference” from Meta.
The appeal which will be presented to the Superior Electoral Court to cancel the candidacy of the right-wing senator is motivated by “algorithmic manipulation” on the part of the American tech giant aimed at harming Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to this source on condition of anonymity. Lula’s campaign accused the American platform of restricting the circulation of its content on Instagram and WhatsApp.
Bolsonaro favorite in the second round
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45-year-old senator, is favorite in the second round of the presidential election on Sunday. In the first round, he created a surprise by finishing in the lead, with 47% of the votes, against 45% for Lula, who is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term at almost 81 years old.
Meta has always denied any bias in the elections. The American company acknowledged problems like the mistaken deactivation of Lula campaign ads, but cited technical “incidents” not only affecting Brazil. Representatives of Meta and lawyers from both campaigns are due to attend a meeting at the TSE on Tuesday, the court told AFP.
On Monday, the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) gave the American tech giant 24 hours to demonstrate that it had adopted these measures, under penalty of a fine of around $200,000 per day. On Tuesday, the company assured on its website that it had “concluded the implementation of measures to meet the requests of the TSE”.
