In brief
On Wednesday, 21 October, Lula's campaign asked the TSE to annul Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy and bar him and Alfredo Gaspar de Mendonça for eight years after the 2026 election.
Bolsonaro's campaign filed its own petition seeking Lula's disqualification, alleging the government used official data to send WhatsApp messages about social programmes.
Meta said any suggestion that it favours one candidate is false, described the problems as an algorithmic error, and said it will comply with a Brazilian court order on equal treatment.
The TSE has received at least 804 legal challenges, more than double the 325 in the same period of 2022 and the 388 in 2018.
On Wednesday, 21 October, UN experts asked Meta for clarity on campaign reach, and the special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field.
- 4 OctFirst round: Bolsonaro narrowly led Lula but fell short of 50% of valid votes
- 21 OctLula's campaign files petition to disqualify Bolsonaro; UN experts raise concerns about Meta
- 22 OctMeta denies favouring either side; polls show a technical tie three days before the vote
- 25 OctRunoff between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro
Lula asks court to bar Flávio Bolsonaro
Lula's campaign asked Brazil's Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), the top electoral court, on Wednesday, 21 October, to open an investigation into alleged abuse of economic power and misuse of social media. The filing seeks to annul the candidacy of senator Flávio Bolsonaro and to declare him and his running mate, Alfredo Gaspar de Mendonça, ineligible for eight years after the 2026 election. It accuses Meta's platforms and X of recommendation systems, generative AI tools and ad review that worked in favour of Bolsonaro's campaign. Lula's team also complains that its advertising account was restricted on the eve of the first round and that 255 automated profiles, many allegedly spreading deepfake content, were not removed. The petition adds that Flávio Bolsonaro's official profile, which has 17.2% fewer followers than Lula's, drew 2.96 times more interactions per post in the first week of the runoff.
Bolsonaro's counter-petition and Meta's response
Bolsonaro's campaign filed its own petition seeking Lula's disqualification, arguing that the government used official data to send WhatsApp messages about social programmes during the campaign. Meta, which owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, responded within the court's deadline and called any suggestion that it favours one side false. It described the reach problems as an algorithmic error in deciding what users see most, and said the technical failures had not been confined to Brazil. Meta has also said it will comply with a Brazilian court order to treat the two candidates equally. Separately, Camilo Santana, coordinator of Lula's campaign, said Lula accepted all of Flávio Bolsonaro's conditions for disclosing bank records and set the same filing deadline for Flávio Bolsonaro.
Record legal challenges at the TSE
- 2026
- 804 legal challenges
- 2022
- 325 legal challenges
- 2018
- 388 legal challenges
Data from the article text
The TSE has received at least 804 legal challenges in this campaign. That is more than twice the 325 recorded in the same period of 2022 and the 388 recorded in 2018. Disputes centre on campaign social media strategies and content shared through WhatsApp. The court must set criteria for when a channel counts as officially linked to a campaign and decide limits on deepfakes, which are highly realistic AI-generated content. Both campaigns have asked the court to annul the other candidate's candidacy over alleged platform abuse.
UN experts question Meta's reach
UN experts said on Wednesday, 21 October, that they were concerned about reports that the two campaigns could not reach voters on equal terms on Meta's platforms. A report led by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression said Meta must ensure a level playing field online during the election. It pointed to temporary interruptions of one campaign's account, gaps in audience engagement and reach, and restrictions on that campaign's Instagram posts. The report's central finding reads as follows:
“Information, including from Meta employees, suggests that accounts linked to one side of the presidential race were disproportionately curtailed.”
Congress and the 25 October runoff
The runoff is set for Sunday, 25 October, and three days before the vote polls show a technical tie. Regardless of the outcome, the election has shifted Congress to the right. The Liberal Party won 23 more lower-house seats and nearly doubled its Senate seats, mostly at the expense of centrist parties, while Lula's Workers' Party held roughly the same number. Lawmakers take office in February 2027, and right-leaning allies want to impeach Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who led the investigation that put former president Jair Bolsonaro in prison for an attempted coup. Impeachment would require 54 Senate votes. Some lawmakers also back lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16, and those figures could still change as members switch parties.