TSE Orders Meta to Explain Drop in Lula Campaign Reach
The tribunal set a 48-hour deadline after the PT said technical faults and hundreds of AI-generated profiles cut Lula’s online visibility, prompting formal probes by electoral and data authorities.
Overview
- Meta acknowledged technical problems on Sunday and said the faults were not limited to Brazil or specific accounts while denying any deliberate favouring of Flávio Bolsonaro.
- The Tribunal Superior Eleitoral gave Meta 48 hours to detail whether Lula’s posts were restricted, excluded from recommendations, subject to geographic blocks or otherwise treated differently.
- The Lula campaign has filed complaints with the TSE and the national data-protection agency and presented an analysis saying Flávio Bolsonaro’s page averaged about 2.96 times more engagement despite having fewer followers.
- The TSE also asked Meta whether it investigated 255 alleged AI-generated fake profiles that the campaign says reached about 58 million views and ran attacks on President Lula and the first lady.
- Independent experts and reporting note that engagement gaps do not by themselves prove algorithmic manipulation, so investigators will need Meta’s technical logs and account data to determine whether there was targeted interference and what regulatory steps could follow.