Meta Restricts Lula's Instagram Ahead of Runoff

Meta's own engineers admitted Lula's Instagram reach was throttled during Brazil's election. Internal chats leaked to Folha de S. Paulo show the platform flagged the president's accounts. The same messages reveal Meta recommended Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's profile and his WhatsApp channel. Lula's posts lost the share button, had lower reach, and missed reaction options. A Brazilian electoral court judge ordered Meta to treat both candidates equally before the Oct. 25 runoff. Justice Marco Aurelio Bellizze also fined the company five hundred thousand reais per day for non-compliance. Meta replied that the issues were technical, not political, and denied any bias. The fine means the company could lose over fifteen million reais. That penalty kicks in if it keeps restricting content.