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The election campaign of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Meta on Saturday of interfering in the elections after his content was blocked on its platforms.
The leftist president is seeking to win a fourth non-consecutive term in the runoff scheduled for October 25, in which he will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula's campaign stated that there were instances where platforms belonging to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, restricted the dissemination of his content.
The campaign alleged that in recent days, Meta "prevented President Lula's personal profile from promoting Instagram feed posts," while a post from his official account experienced "a drop in view counts, which affected its reach."
It also mentioned that before the first round of voting last Sunday, in which Bolsonaro came in first place, the accounts of Lula and other leftist leaders suddenly disappeared from Instagram's search feature.
The statement added that "the series of technical problems... raises strong suspicions that Meta's practices constitute an attempt to interfere in the Brazilian electoral process in favor of Flavio Bolsonaro."
Meta's office in Brazil denied the accusations, describing them as "incorrect" and "not based on facts."
Meta told Agence France-Presse in an email that "many of the technical issues mentioned were not limited to Brazil or specific accounts," adding, "We adhere to electoral rules and are committed to providing equal opportunities regarding the use of our platforms."
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