US Lawmakers Demand Meta Explain Alleged Bias in 2026 Brazilian Elections

Thirteen US lawmakers have sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding explanations about alleged unequal treatment of Brazilian presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro on Meta’s platforms. The lawmakers raised concerns that Meta restricted Lula's campaign content while promoting Flávio's, pointing to several incidents including WhatsApp AI refusing to generate Lula-favorable images yet accommodating similar requests for Flávio. Lula's campaign ad account was also deactivated just before the first round, and the campaign experienced significant audience reach losses on Instagram.

The letter urges immediate measures to ensure equal treatment and requests a meeting with Meta representatives. Lawmakers also asked about Meta's communication with the Trump administration and whether independent auditors will have access to data verifying impartial content moderation. Meta faces penalties from Brazil’s Electoral Court (TSE), which fined the company for failing to guarantee equal treatment; the fine was doubled due to non-compliance.

Meta claims to have implemented 17 measures to comply with judicial orders, including human reviews of ad restrictions. This action follows reports by CTRL+Z documenting over a thousand restrictions affecting Lula-supporting accounts. The controversy highlights growing scrutiny of social media influence on Brazil's 2026 elections, amplifying concerns about platform bias in democratic processes.