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Meta has rejected accusations that it acted with political bias against Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the country's election campaign, saying recent problems stemmed from global technical failures, anti-fraud measures and legal rules rather than targeted pressure.

The company said its systems do not serve content based on political ideology and that the same rules apply to all candidates, parties and political viewpoints in Brazil, as in other elections worldwide.

Meta denies favoring Lula's rival

Meta issued a statement responding to claims that its platforms favored Lula's rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, through biased algorithms during the Brazilian election. The company said a series of recent problems resulted from global technical glitches, anti-fraud measures and legal regulations, not from targeted pressure.

"Meta applies the same rules to all candidates, parties and political views in Brazil as it does in other elections around the world," the statement said. The company added that its systems do not deliver content based on political ideology and that its rules are enforced equally.

Lula's allegations and court ruling

Lula accused Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, of using biased algorithms and artificial intelligence restrictions during the campaign to favor Bolsonaro. The claims included allegations that accounts and advertisements linked to Bolsonaro had their visibility artificially inflated.

Lula's campaign also argued that WhatsApp's AI feature, Meta AI, would not generate images related to Lula's campaign while allowing content supporting Bolsonaro. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled that Meta must treat Lula and his rival Bolsonaro equally.

Reported internal messages

Yesterday the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo published what it described as internal messages from Meta employees. The report alleged that staff acknowledged restrictions on boosting certain posts from Lula's campaign accounts because of technical faults and algorithmic limits.

The employees were reported to have argued that the failures were systemic in nature.

The presidential race

Voters in Brazil went to the polls on Oct. 4 to choose a president, but no candidate passed 50 percent, sending the contest to a runoff scheduled for Oct. 25.

The second round will pit incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the right-wing candidate and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Key takeaways

• Meta rejected claims it favored Flavio Bolsonaro over Lula through biased algorithms in Brazil's election campaign.
• The company attributed recent problems to global technical failures, anti-fraud measures and legal rules, not targeted pressure.
• Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled Meta must treat Lula and Bolsonaro equally.
• The presidential race goes to a runoff on Oct. 25 after no candidate passed 50 percent on Oct. 4.