Lula's Party Takes Meta to the OAS, Alleging Election Interference

The party of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will lodge a complaint with the Organization of American States (OAS) against the technology company Meta, accusing it of interfering in the country's election. His campaign announced the move on Wednesday. The leftist leader is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term in a runoff on October 25. His opponent is Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.

The campaign's claims

Party Communications Secretary Eden Valadares told reporters it was time to denounce Meta before the international community, beginning with the OAS. He said Lula himself had ordered the step.

According to the campaign, Meta in recent days prevented the president's profile from promoting posts in the Instagram feed, and a post on his official account saw an interruption in view counts, which reduced its reach. The campaign also says that before last Sunday's first round, in which Flavio Bolsonaro finished first, the profiles of Lula and other leftist leaders suddenly vanished from Instagram's search function.

Meta's response

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, denies the allegations. Its Brazil office called them "simply false" and "not supported by the facts."

What comes next

Lula's campaign has called a meeting on Thursday with international election observers to discuss the alleged interference. Lula has also claimed that the United States is trying to interfere in the vote in favor of Flavio Bolsonaro, whose father is an ally of US President Donald Trump.

After the first round, Lula, who does not use a mobile phone, launched a social media push that includes videos in which he addresses his online followers.